Friday June 16, 2006 SGN.org |
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Volume 34 Issue 24 |
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Sunday, Mar 21, 2010
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Local adults support Snohomish County Queer youth |
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| Local adults support Snohomish County Queer youth | ||
| It started in 1993. Staff members from the Snohomish Health District (SHD), along with local Queer community members, realized that they had an opportunity to share important information with local Gay and Lesbian youth from a very specific perspective. Although there was some discussion about sexual health, self-esteem, HIV, STDs and AIDS transmission for teen-agers in our schools, it wasn't likely being delivered by Gay, Bi, Trans, or HIV-positive individuals. The idea led them to create a weekly discussion group that was safe, inviting, and non-judgmental for Queer and questioning youth in Snohomish County to talk openly about their own sexual health, the potential consequences of risky sexual behavior, pride, and other topics that affect most American teen-agers - but with a Queer bent.
Sixteen years later, the group is still going strong and provides services to an average of 45 youth (ages 14-20) each week! The group was named GLOBE, an acronym created by the youth members themselves: GLBTQA Loving Ourselves Becoming Empowered. As a facilitated support group through the HIV/STD Program at SHD, GLOBE empowers youth to make healthy decisions by enhancing their knowledge about HIV risks, encouraging safe behavior to avoid infection, increase self-esteem and instill pride. Some people who live outside of Snohomish County are surprised to learn that such a youth group exists - let alone that its numbers rival any other youth group in Washington state. They don't usually regard our county as a liberal bastion, especially compared to King County. And it's not. However, each week there are sometimes as many as three new youth members who heard from a friend, who heard from a teacher or a parent about the group. And year after year Snohomish County community members step up to support GLOBE and other Queer-friendly organizations. Members of the community and SHD realize that sharing accurate information about sexual health with Queer and straight youth is imperative! According to the CDC, at least half of people becoming infected with HIV infections each year are those under the age of 25.1 Most young people are infected through sex. Young African-Americans represent 64 percent of new AIDS cases among 13-19 year olds, and Latinos represent 20 percent of this age group. Teenage girls account for 54 per cent of new AIDS cases. If youth can't discuss the current situation in open and frank dialogue, how are they to understand the role they play in becoming responsible members of the Queer society who can change the current situation? A core adult volunteer group called The Assets Team leads the efforts to support GLOBE through positive mentorship, fundraising, and a visible representation of 'normal' Queer adults. It's not unusual for a new group member to meet one of the adult volunteers and say, "You're the first Gay adult I've ever met." Imagine their surprise when a Lesbian Assets member "comes out" as having been in a committed, monogamous relationship for 17-plus years! Or another Assets member confides that he has been HIV-positive for the past 15 years and although it's not the "death" sentence it was in the 1980s, it's still nothing that anyone wants to have. Seventeen years with the same partner? Living with HIV for 15 years? For some GLOBE-ees, that's longer than they've been alive! GLOBE provides an atmosphere to ask questions of, and learn from, Queer adults who "have been there, and done that!" One of the Assets members, a 39-year-old Gay male who is HIV-positive, wonders how his life would have been different if a group like GLOBE existed for him. "If I had something like GLOBE when I was younger, I might not be HIV-positive today. Who knows? But I do know that I would have been properly educated on how to prevent HIV. I would have been able to ask questions about safer Gay sex from Gay adults who actually experienced Gay sex, and not just read in a textbook how bad it was! Plus, I know that I would have felt less isolated and more valued as a Gay kid and I would have cared a lot more about my own well-being." Thankfully, members of GLOBE hear all of that each week! Look for GLOBE, as for the sixth time, they participate in the Seattle Pride Parade on Sunday, June 25th! For more information on GLOBE and other SHD services, call 425.339.5251 or email Gayinfo@shd.snohomish.wa.gov. SOURCES 1. CDC, Fact Sheet: Young People at Risk - HIV/AIDS Among America's Youth, 2002. A Snohomish Health District press release |
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