The Church-Wellesley Village has long been a hub for queer and trans folks to immerse themselves in LGBTQ life. It’s a safe space for people to explore themselves, foster relationships, settle, socialize and unwind. But since it’s made up mostly of bars, lounges and clubs geared toward the 19-and-over crowd, it can sometimes leave queer youth in the cold.
Having grown up as a queer teen in the late ’90s, I remember the only places we were allowed to hang out in the area were The 519 Community Centre and coffee shops. There weren’t a lot of youth spaces in the community, let alone arts and performance spaces. Then, in April 1998, came the launch of Supporting Our Youth (SOY) — a community development program that would help change the way the Toronto queer and trans community view youth, eventually inspiring other support/social groups and youth initiatives.

A decade after its inception, SOY has helped introduce hundreds of young people to social activism, queer and trans history and the arts. Many youth today can vouch for SOY as a champion for the queer youth community, and many of the city’s up-and-coming activists, writers and performers — like Mariko Tamaki and Tara-Michelle Ziniuk — have ties to the organization.

“YOU CAN’T TALK ABOUT queer youth without talking about SOY,” says 28-year-old performance artist and activist Ryan G. Hinds, who’s been involved with SOY for several years and has worked closely with Toronto writers and performers Sky Gilbert, Trey Anthony and Jackie Richardson.

Hinds’ first involvement with the organization was through Fruit Loopz, an arts and performance show organized by youth that now has its own stage on the Saturday (June 28) of Pride Weekend.

“At the time, there weren’t a lot of spaces for youth but Fruit Loopz had an artistic bent,” says Hinds. “It was not just a venue for me to express my art, it was also a way for me to access the community around me, network, socialize and be around like-minded people involved in art, music and activism.”

For the over 200 volunteers (including youth and mentors) who walk through its doors in a year, SOY has become a second home in the greater LGBTQ community. But the impact that SOY has had with young people goes beyond the Church-Wellesley hub.

IN 1995, AT A CONFERENCE called Other Young Lives, members of the school-board and social-service sectors came together to discuss issues surrounding queer youth and the “cracks in the system.” A year later, a second conference was held, followed by a six-month community consultation to figure out what was needed for LGBT youth. About 160 people participated.

“It was clear that mental-health services were important but social, recreational and artistic spaces were also needed,” says Clare Nobbs, coordinator of community programs with SOY. “These were places where queer and trans youth could explore what they were experiencing to see their own lives reflected back and feel safe to come out in a positive environment.”
After receiving a grant from the province’s Trillium Foundation, Supporting Our Youth was officially launched in April 1998.

At first, it occupied a small room in the Central Toronto Youth Services office, decorated with volunteer pictures, thank-you cards and flyers from their various initiatives. They had one paid staff member in charge of special programming, such as a queer-activism panel and a few groups like Pink Ink (a queer writers’ group), the Rainbow Book Club and Fruit Loopz.
Since then, SOY has moved to larger digs, with four offices and a shared student space at the Sherbourne Health Centre, where it’s run by nine staff members plus students, interns and contract workers. With this growth came a broader mandate and capacity to help: these days, SOY aims to not only offer artistic and recreational support, but also to empower youth by giving them a sense of purpose, a space to develop their art, skills to build community, tools to build a decent life and tangible opportunities such as employment.

“There’s a real acknowledgement of the many challenges that queer and trans youths face. Because of this we are able to grow and be multi-faceted,” says Nobbs. “Recognizing the cultural, social and gender identities of individuals, SOY has created different opportunities for youth to come support, be creative, do their thing and build community.”

SOY runs 12 initiatives at various times throughout the year, such as the Trans Fusion Crew, Express (for newcomers and immigrants), Black Queer Youth group and Click (a youth mentoring program). In addition to these groups, they also find housing, act as an advocacy group, host employment clinics and refer youth to queer- and trans-friendly doctors.

What’s unique about the organization is that youth have always been involved with the creation and execution of the programs and not just the use of its services. At SOY, adults and youth work together in positive ways that do not involve sex, drugs or any romantic relationships and everyone is able to learn and support each other without any strings attached.

Hinds adds, “[SOY’s] contribution is immeasurable and without it there would be a lot of queer youth running around without a sense of community, togetherness and achievement.”