Gender and Sexual Diversity with Waikato Queer Youth
Like many non-profit organisations, Waikato Queer Youth (WaQuY) started because a vulnerable young person needed support. A few passionate people saw an opportunity to create a space for advocating and supporting young people to celebrate their diversity and identities and provide safe places where people can thrive and feel empowered to be themselves or support their loved ones.
Heading into 2020 we now work alongside people all over the Waikato by facilitating personal, social, and educational growth in young people and their wider communities through volunteering, mentoring and creating safe spaces. We deliver training and education to professionals, services and volunteers who work with gender and sexually diverse people. We also connect with youth services and health services, creating robust referral pathways for health and wellbeing.
50 percent of the questions we receive from youth in our school education sessions are about how to come out to friends or family, or safely tell their parents they may be gender diverse. As a society we have definitely come a long way from when I personally was seeking support with my identity as a teen, but there is still a lot more work to do within our communities. By far my favourite gift I have received from a young person is a canvas with a hand printed script saying; “In the hopes that one day this wonderful group will no longer be needed”.
WaQuY strives to offer hope to youth who may otherwise be isolated, a space for young people to celebrate who they are, through positive, identity affirming and community building care. There is a substantial need for support services, peer support networks, and a greater sense of developing positive identities for gender and sexuality diverse youth living in the Waikato.
Life outside of the handful of big cities in Aotearoa New Zealand can be tough for any minority, and for gender and sexuality diverse youth this is too often their lived reality. Often communities are keen to help their friends and family members but lack adequate knowledge or resources to do so. We aim to continue fostering stronger communities and family relationships in geographic areas where this may be the only positive face-to-face identity affirming support a youth may have. As in our beginning in 2005 when we held our first youth group, we continue to adapt to the growing range of needs of those we support.
Some of the most common barriers we have identified are spaces for families and adults to find connection, access to adequate gender affirming healthcare, visibility in data and research, homelessness and mental health and wellbeing. As an organisation we look forward to seeing what is next for our evolution into a wrap-around service and invite you to join us in making a difference in people’s lives.
WaQuY thrives because of the support of the wider community through volunteering, internships and resources. If you are keen to be part of a movement instilling a culture of inclusivity and acceptance where all people irrespective of gender and sexuality have the greatest opportunities to thrive, or are wanting support in your own journey, please contact us at waikatoqueeryouth@gmail.com.
Nathan Bramwell
WaQuY Youth Services Manager