Logic Model
Social Justice
We seek to bring an intersectional social justice framework to life. We work to elevate voices of those most impacted by systemic oppression. We seek to understand and uplift youth in LGBTQ+ families. We aim to transform tolerance into support and allies into change agents. We center social and racial justice and the pursuit of legal and lived equity.
Holistic Youth Development
Young people develop a sense of belonging and become just leaders when they have authentic opportunities to learn, heal, and lead; space to be vulnerable and strong; tools to understand and navigate the contexts in which they live; and a place to see themselves in and be their full selves with others. We value a community-centered culture that acknowledges adultism and uplifts youth voices.
Community Building
We intentionally build a courageous, loving community using a kinship model that centers compassion, healing, affirmation, transformative justice, belonging, responsibility, vulnerability, and inclusion. We do this with transformative justice and anti-oppression practices.
We believe that our difference is our strength--we live intersectionality, and hold space for both our connections and differences, knowing that we are individually and collectively stronger when everyone among us is supported and empowered.
COLAGE is youth-driven, centering a For Us By Us approach--to be relevant, COLAGErs must lead every facet of the work, and only COLAGErs may deliver COLAGE programming. To align with our social justice framework and commitment to anti-oppression, COLAGE prioritizes the leadership of people of color.
COLAGEr-Only Space
Space to create the trust and security individuals require to be vulnerable enough to find their strength, build resilience, and prepare to navigate a world out of balance, we hold that COLAGEr only spaces are critical, in that they allow us to be our full selves and bring our full identities without pressure to censor or be exemplars.
We value engaging and open community dialogue in which all community members and facilitator/leaders are encouraged to communicate honestly, presume best intentions, be accountable for their words and actions, value each person's expertise in their own experience, and learn from one another.
Our Stories
The autonomy to frame and decide when and how our stories are shared is at our core; we support non-dominant narratives, and the use of language we co-create; shared stories build personal power, understanding, empathy, confidence, and community, and are critical change-making tools.