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Youth Voices: Class of 2022

Jul 14, 2022

Congratulations to our graduating Youth Voices – Class of 2022!

Youth Voices is an annual cohort of exceptional young people ages 13-18 who team up with our organization to offer their unique stories and words of advice to other LGBTQ+ youth around the globe. They are students, artists, and activists who are working to change their communities for the better and who have a passion for empowering their community of LGBTQ+ peers with their insights and observations.

This year’s cohort, Class of 2022, has officially come to an end. It is a bittersweet moment as we send off this group of incredible young people to do bigger and brighter things! But before we do, we’d like to take a moment to celebrate some of the powerful, creative, and inspiring things that they have accomplished with us this year.

Major Projects

  • River of Life – The Youth Voices took a storytelling workshop, “River of Life”, where they learned how to craft their story to affect positive change for LGBTQ+ youth like themselves. They later recorded these beautiful stories which were used in workshops and conferences; and soon, many of them will be on our social channels reaching thousands of LGBTQ+ youth!
  • imi Guide – They supported the Milk Collaborative in creating a mental health tool for LGBTQ+ youth like themselves. They contributed to the collections of stories, provided feedback, participated in focus groups, and so much more.
  • Zines – They started our (now on-going) Youth Voice Zine collection featuring their original art, poetry, photography, stories, thought-pieces, and more.
  • OTIS Comic Book Heroes – They were interviewed by a class of art students from OTIS College so that the artists could create a comic book inspired by the Youth Voices, their story, and elements of their personalities!
  • Feedback – They provided feedback on It Gets Better content, educational materials, strategic planning efforts, and more.
(From left to right) Kiki (she/her), Elliot (they/them), Chloe (they/them), 
and Ben (they/them) share their “River of Life” story.

Speaking Out

The Youth Voices spoke out on important and relevant issues like…

Hailey (she/her) shares her “River of Life” story with a school
 in Los Angeles, CA for National Coming Out Day.

Interviews

The Youth Voices participated in powerful and uplifting interviews about…

Zach (he/him) shares how young LGBTQ+ people are changing the world.
Hammy (they/them) meets with Maxwell Poth from Project Contrast to participate in an interview and photoshoot for their upcoming book.

Livestreams

The Youth Voices participated in empowering and engaging live-streamed discussions like…

Zach (he/they) discusses supporting LGBTQ+ youth with  Teen Vogue, Amy Schneider, and Zaya Wade.

Conferences

The Youth Voices spoke on panels and provided video content for workshops and conferences like…

  • Teach for America
  • SXSW EDU
  • ILGA World Conference
Elliot (they/them) speaks at SXSW EDU.
@itgetsbetter

We hosted ILGA World Conference, a gathering of hundreds of LGBTQ+ activists and orgs from around the WORLD! 🏳️‍🌈🐧 #itgetsbetter #ilga #ilgaworld #lgbtqactivist #lgbtqrights #lgbtq #drag

♬ original sound – It Gets Better
Youth Voices phone in to share their stories at ILGA World Conference

These 13 incredible young people all have accomplished so much this year and touched the lives of so many LGBTQ+ youth around the globe. We are so proud of each and every one of them, and the incredible growth, passion, dedication, creativity, and power that came from this cohort and their year together. 

Alejandro Isabella, Hammy, Jace, Uma, Zach, Andrea, Ben, Chloe, Elliot, Hailey, Kiki, Laynie, and Sasha… Congratulations on Graduating Youth Voices, Class of 2022!

Learn more about the Youth Voices program.

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