Windy City Times, Affinity Community Services host LGBTQ homeless youth summit May 2-5
Mon. March 24, 2014 9:24 AM by GoPride.com News Staff
Chicago, IL -
Windy City Times, Chicago's LGBT newsweekly, and Affinity Community Services will host a summit May 2 through 5 on LGBTQ youth in the Chicago region, to assess the current issues impacting homeless youth, and find new solutions to these complex issues.
"Addressing LGBT youth homelessness requires a team effort. This summit presents an opportunity for everyone—from policy makers and faith leaders to advocates and activists—to come together and find new ways to address an ongoing challenge," said Commissioner Bechara Choucair, M.D., Chicago Department of Public Health.
The summit, titled "Owning Our Lives: Dream It. Speak It. Do It!!", is a followup to the award-winning Windy City Times Generation Halsted series.
"Windy City Times wants to bring a public spotlight to these issues, inviting all major and smaller agencies and individuals addressing LGBTQ youth, including youth themselves, to participate in a new way of working together, similar to the diverse and transparent approach to the March on Springfield for Marriage Equality in 2013," said Summit host Tracy Baim, Windy City Times publisher, and founder of the March.
Kim Hunt, executive director of Affinity Community Services, will serve as the summit's director. Additional summit team members are: youth organizers: Breezy Connor, Keyshia LayMorris and Zanareyah Phillips; and Bonn Wade, adult ally.
The Crossroads Fund is the 501-c-3 fiscal partner of the summit. The foundations and groups so far assisting with the summit include: True Colors Fund, Polk Bros Foundation, Alphawood Foundation Chicago, Lefkofsky Foundation, Pierce Family Foundation, Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Affinity Community Services, Lambda Legal, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Chicago House, Howard Brown Health Center and ChicagoPride.com. The venues donating their facilities are: Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, the University of Illinois at Chicago Gender and Sexuality Center, and the Museum of Broadcast Communications.
The website for registration, donations and full information is chicagosummit.lgbthomelessness.com.
"Addressing LGBT youth homelessness requires a team effort. This summit presents an opportunity for everyone—from policy makers and faith leaders to advocates and activists—to come together and find new ways to address an ongoing challenge," said Commissioner Bechara Choucair, M.D., Chicago Department of Public Health.
The summit, titled "Owning Our Lives: Dream It. Speak It. Do It!!", is a followup to the award-winning Windy City Times Generation Halsted series.
"Windy City Times wants to bring a public spotlight to these issues, inviting all major and smaller agencies and individuals addressing LGBTQ youth, including youth themselves, to participate in a new way of working together, similar to the diverse and transparent approach to the March on Springfield for Marriage Equality in 2013," said Summit host Tracy Baim, Windy City Times publisher, and founder of the March.
Kim Hunt, executive director of Affinity Community Services, will serve as the summit's director. Additional summit team members are: youth organizers: Breezy Connor, Keyshia LayMorris and Zanareyah Phillips; and Bonn Wade, adult ally.
The Crossroads Fund is the 501-c-3 fiscal partner of the summit. The foundations and groups so far assisting with the summit include: True Colors Fund, Polk Bros Foundation, Alphawood Foundation Chicago, Lefkofsky Foundation, Pierce Family Foundation, Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Affinity Community Services, Lambda Legal, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Chicago House, Howard Brown Health Center and ChicagoPride.com. The venues donating their facilities are: Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, the University of Illinois at Chicago Gender and Sexuality Center, and the Museum of Broadcast Communications.
The website for registration, donations and full information is chicagosummit.lgbthomelessness.com.