The Inside Scoop
December 2021
Thank you for reading Youth Pride, Inc.'s December edition of The Inside Scoop! Within you will read about our holiday events, the Providence College MAD Board, yoga at YPI, our new Executive Director, and more!
Kitchen Drive Follow Up
Our Kitchen Drive presented in our newsletter last month was a massive success. In addition to many individual donors, the Citizens BRG Group, Citizens Pride, donated $2,500 worth of kitchen appliances and accessories to our kitchen. Thanks to Citizens Pride we're now the proud owners of an Instapot, air fryer, stand mixer, full knife set, and plenty more. Queer Gourmet, our new cooking skills program, and Wednesday Night Dinners will be greatly improved with these much needed donations.
Making a Difference
Providence College offers a Philanthropy course that is gives students hand on experience with funds and organizations. The course is sponsored by the national Learning by Giving Foundation. Students enrolled in the course are collectively known as the Making a Difference (MAD) Board. The national Learning by Giving Foundation grants the MAD Board funds to distribute to nonprofits in Providence that the students feel are making a difference in the community.

After applying, YPI was chosen to receive a $10,000 MAD Board grant to fund our OUTspoken Program in 2022! OUTspoken is YPI's paid leadership program that runs in six week sessions, four times a year. It is designed to be a first step on a pathway to becoming a community leader by learning about advocacy, community involvement, and cultural awareness. The program is also designed to give youth the opportunity to learn about their different identities and how that knowledge can impact their community. More information about the first 2022 session of OUTspoken will be released on our website and social media pages later this month.

We are so grateful to be receiving these funds which will allow us to provide more education to more youth. Thank you, Providence College MAD Board!
Holiday Events
To acknowledge ,Thanksgiving this year, YPI volunteers and staff prepared both Thanksgiving baskets and Thanksgiving Hot Plates to-go for youth to enjoy. Youth could pick up a meal, or have it delivered right to their door! Thanks to everyone, YPI was able to make and distribute 14 baskets, 42 regular hot meals, 6 hot vegetarian meals and 1 hot vegan meal to Providence area LGBTQ+ youth.

If you enjoyed our Thanksgiving event, we will be having another Winter Holiday event on December 22 for youth to pick up a meal and small gift. If you're a youth interested in requesting a meal and gift, please fill out our Meal Request Form below. If you're an adult wanting to donate food to the event or volunteer to deliver meals by car, please fill out our Holiday Volunteer Form below.
Yoga at YPI
Working with Soulfriend Yoga to provide free outdoor yoga classes in the warmer months has been rewarding. Now that the temperatures are dropping we're bringing yoga inside! Every other Saturday from 12-1pm, Soulfriend Yoga will be offering free classes in our drop-in space located at 743 Westminster St. Providence, RI 02903.

These free classes are open to anyone 23 or younger. All experience levels are welcome and mats are provided. To reserve your spot, register below!

The next yoga session is this Saturday, 12/4.
YPI Resources
Are you really missing drop-in hours? Need someone to talk to? Are you experiencing crisis? Have concerns, fears or mental health needs that you need to express to someone? Here are a couple of resources for you that were compiled by YPI staff.
Monthly Spotlight
Rush Frazier
Youth Pride, Inc. would like to introduce our community to YPI's 7th Executive Director, Rush Frazier!
Hello YPI Community, 
I am beyond honored to join Youth Pride, Inc. as the Executive Director, and I thank everyone for the warm welcome! What has me most excited for taking the helm at YPI is the possibility to spend my entire work week engaged with the question, “How do we do more than inspire resilience in LGBTQ+ youth to do more than simply withstand the slings and arrows of home life and cisheteronormativity, to a place where they find joy, and learn early on their personal power?” I have a chance to remove some of the self-doubt and isolation queer youth are facing. I consider it a privilege and a duty to be in a position where I am equipped to handle this charge, and am eager to give it my whole heart. 
I have 20 years of experience working for racial, economic, gender and environmental justice. As Regional Field Organizer for the Yes on 3 ballot campaign for transgender rights in 2018, I recruited, trained, and mobilized over 500 volunteers and staff throughout Central and Western MA. My team’s efforts directly helped us win the nation’s first state ballot campaign to defend transgender nondiscrimination protections. During my time with Amnesty International New England, I worked in coalition to address the structural implications and disproportionate impacts of immigration and detention, police violence, gun access, and environmental policies on Black/POC, LGBTQ+, and other marginalized communities, as well as end the death penalty in New Hampshire. In my most recent role at Neighbor to Neighbor Education Fund, I worked in coalition with youth, parents, doctors, and other concerned citizens to bring K-12 comprehensive sex education to the second largest public school system in New England, well ahead of passage of the Healthy Youth Act. I also led coalition work to keep bus fares free for all residents of Worcester. I pledge to bring that same passion for justice and equity to this role. 
As a queer, working-class, AFAB Black person, I face challenges every day holding power accountable. I understand how difficult it is to navigate these systems while also advocating for oneself in an inherently biased structure. To be young, transgender and queer, without a vocabulary to directly address the special brand of liberal gaslighting that happens in our region, presents a whole unique set of unenviable challenges. I am forever grateful to the organizers and concerned citizens who introduced me to the power of organizing, mutual aid, and the vision of collective liberation. 
I doubt I would have started to find my voice and comfort with my gender identity as early in life as I had without a LGBTQ+ drop-in resource in my hometown that is much like YPI. I can speak first-hand of the importance of having had a circle of trusted adults to speak with, as well as peer leaders that had my back. Circumstances have not gotten easier for LGBTQ+ youth today, and I am ready to do everything I can to help disrupt and eliminate the gauntlet of adversities our youth face across the Ocean State and throughout New England. I look forward to seeing you in the State House, on the streets, and (of course) at our upcoming fundraising events. My door is always open. 

In Solidarity, 
Rush Frazier
Quick Facts About Rush
Name: Rush Frazier
Pronouns: They/Them 
Honorific: Mx. 
Hometown: Worcester, MA
Favorite Colors: Orange or Purple
Dog or Cat Person: I have two dogs and two cats, so all fur is family at my house :) 
Astrological Sign: Aries
Red Scarves Across the River
Launched in 1988, World AIDS Day is a global health day recognized annually on December 1. The day is an opportunity for individuals around the world to unite in the fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness.

To honor World AIDS Day 2021, AIDS Project Rhode Island hosted Red Scarves Across the River, a community art installation happening at the Providence Pedestrian Bridge downtown. The goal of the project was to attach 1748+ red scarves to the bridge; one scarf in honor of each Rhode Islander lost to the AIDS epidemic since 1983. Individuals were encouraged to knit, crochet, or buy a red scarf to attach to the bridge railing and show solidarity.

There are many organizations in Rhode Island working to educate and cure people of HIV and AIDS. If you are in need of testing or education, the below link lists a variety of resource spots across the state.
Our Mission
Mission:
Youth Pride, Inc. 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.

Values:
LEADERSHIP: YPI is committed to creating the leaders of today. Youth voices drive our process, and we seek to develop the leadership skills necessary both within the organization and outside of it.
AFFIRMATION: YPI believes all youth must be affirmed for who they are and how they express themselves. We are committed to making that a reality in all of the environments in which young people live.
COMMUNITY: YPI believes building strong connections is essential to youth success and empowerment. We strive to create a caring, respectful and diverse community of young people and adults.
Our Programs and Services
Youth Pride, Inc. serves over 700 Rhode Island LGBTQ+ youth and their straight allies a year through a variety of programs and services. In addition to four weekly support groups, we offer an art program, leadership program, virtual Dungeons & Dragons, and more!

Our center is home to a Basic Needs Pantry, open to youth in need of food, clothing, toiletries, and school supplies. We also offer one on one counseling with in-house clinicians virtually and in person.

YPI offers support to those who work with youth through policy and advocacy, and by providing professional development workshops and technical assistance to service providers and educators.

For more information on getting involved with YPI as a volunteer or if you or someone you know is in need of our services, contact info@youthprideri.org
Your tax-deductible donation helps YPI continue to do the important work we do in accordance to our mission. Your gift would be directly investing in our state's LGBTQ+ youth so that they may have a chance to share their gifts and light with the world.
If you have a story you feel should be included in an upcoming newsletter, email Info@youthprideri.org