Youth Pride, Inc.
LGBTQ+ youth are under attack, y’all — for realz!
I’m not even gonna bother into the depths of the wrongness of ongoing attacks on all sides, strategically divided along women’s issues, race issues, LGBTQ issues, always targeting the vulnerable. They make bodily attacks—relegating certain bodies to public domain, expressing those bodies as dangers to the public and otherwise of concern. Abortion is framed as a murder. Being queer is conflated with criminal child abuse. Too dark skin justifies self defense. The latest and sickening new strategy is to codify LGBTQ+ (period) as a matter unsuitable for children.
I’m not going in. If you care, you already know. If you didn’t care, you would have stopped reading at sentence one. If I’m wrong, make a note to look up “Don’t Say Gay” laws. I’m gonna use this week’s soap box to plug a group that is doing the work alongside queer youth of all ilk and their allies in Rhode Island. Youth Pride, Inc., a 501(c)3 based in Providence, is dedicated to meeting the unique needs of youth and young adults impacted by sexual orientation and gender identity/expression while working to end the homophobic and transphobic environments in which they live, work, and play.
Pre-COVID, I MC’d a benefit for Youth Pride. It was held in a local, family-run bar/restaurant. The place was all the ambiance of an Irish pub, furnished surplus from a pizza joint. Maybe you had to see it. It wasn’t a dive, but sure not fancy. The benefit was attended mostly by the regular clientele. Most people didn’t know it was even a benefit and a fair number among the folks were watching whatever game was on. A few were even rowdy, likely already drunk. Put plainly, I had low expectations.
The director of the organization showed up and that meant a lot to me. People often generously offer to “throw a benefit” and inadvertently make more work for the organization they are trying to support. It showed dedication on their, the director’s, part. I asked what they intended to raise and got a shrug. They didn’t know these people any better than me. I used my role as MC, putting it to the crowd—this crowd of mostly strangers—how much they thought we could raise.
The first to pipe up was the mother of a trans youth who was a regular at the center.
“Five Thousand Dollars!” She yelled in her heavy New England accent. The reaction in the room made it very clear that this was a pipe dream and the group decided to aim much lower. I had totes brushed that mother off and I regretted it.
On the next song (it was Karaoke), I said sorry to her and the group for underestimating them. That mother’s child, and her by extension, valued Youth Pride, Inc. at five K. Who was I to naysay?
We raised six thousand.
I’m returning to the Fountain Street Grill (that’s the name of the place) in Pawtucket, RI, for another chance to support Youth Pride, Inc. This year I’d like to see them raise even more. Please check out their donation link and help make their week.
— Notorious Pink
Update post benefit. We raised another 3K.
