What are the youth going to do at the meetings?

Each support meeting begins with reviewing the group expectations, which are re-created by youth each year – things like one person speaks at a time, respect the space, respect everyone’s view, and silence your phone. We ask everyone in the room to sign our Rainbow Rules committing to keep them throughout the meeting.

Then everyone in the group gets a chance to do check-in. This includes saying your name, the gender pronoun you prefer, and anything you’d like to share. Here is an example of what people share: highs and lows from the week, thoughts of interest, dreams, real-life situations, concerns, worries, excitements – really the sky is the limit about what is shared. Many times check-in will lead the conversation for the remainder of the group.

We also bring in structured topics around areas of interest or concern. RYA provides information and discussions around sexual health and safety, substance use, self-care, and many other topics. Occasionally, we will bring in guest presenters to talk about a specific topic.

12/2020 update: In an effort to keep everyone safe during COVID restrictions, we have switched to all virtual meetings until it is safe to be together again.