Queer Cafe Coalition

The Queer Cafe Coalition was formed earlier in 2007 in response to a perceived lack of resources in our area for youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or who are questioning their sexual and/or gender identity. Members of the Gay Straight Alliance Ministry at Christ Church organized a series of meetings to discuss how we might ensure that local area LGBTI youth are able to find a safe place to be themselves.

Background

I ncluded in the initial meetings were adults from other area churches (Episcopal and Unitarian), Ramapo College, Summit Oaks Hospital, and PFLAG of Bergen County, with PFLAG immediately willing to commit energy and resources to any initiative that would find ways to support LGBTI youth programming in our area. At our early meetings, we discussed what our youth needed. A 15 year old gay youth from Ramapo High School attended our first meeting, and provided some helpful insights. A respected pediatrician shared his perspectives and those of colleagues. And the teachers and parents of LGBTI youth from Christ Church and PFLAG shared their experiences in working with LGBTI youth.

We spent some time researching (and in dialogue with) a number of urban youth programs, many of which started in the early to mid 1990s and continue to operate a range of services for LGBTI youth. Two local organizations (B-RAY in Teaneck, and GALY in Morristown) stopped offering services over the past year... citing "lack of youth participation" or "mission completed." As a result of our discussions and research, we came up with several conclusions:

• It is not clear that a "drop in" space as typically conceived will get a good response. While everyone believes strongly that LGBTI youth need a way to establish a safe community, issues around confidentiality (for those not fully out or supported by parents) and transportation can be obstacles.
• The internet has allowed for the creation of virtual communities, and is an outlet for LGBTI youth that has become a substitute for a suburban youth center format. While this has been a helpful outlet for many LGBTI youth, it is not sufficient by itself. In-person interaction - particularly where adult role models can be visible - remains important.
• We need a way to engage area LGBTI youth in order to understand from them directly what they need, what programs would provide support and keep them engaged.
• Finally, as a group of well intended adults, we do not have an identity nor credibility to just start offering a service or services.

Queer Cafe Coalition

We agreed that we needed first to establish an identity so that, whatever actions we decided to take could be associated with a specific organization, allowing us to begin to establish credibility. We agreed on a name that we felt would resonate with our audience, while setting a tone that describes our approach. The "coalition" membership is open to any groups or individuals interested in embracing our purpose. PFLAG of Bergen, as an organization, has formally joined the Queer Cafe Coalition as has Christ Church's GSA Ministry. Website: www.queercafe.org

Rainbow Pumpkin Dance

We also agreed that as an inaugural event, a regional high school Halloween dance would provide a strong opportunity to engage our local youth audience and begin to establish ourselves as an organization focused on LGBTI youth. Saturday, October 27th at Christ Church was the date for the Rainbow Pumpkin Dance, open to all high school students (ID required).

Ongoing

We are hoping that the Rainbow Pumpkin Dance was the first of two annual events (fall and spring). We also hope to learn from our surveys how best to engage the area youth, and to plan programming going forward that meets their needs in new, creative, and effective ways. We believe that a new format is required for the realities of suburban, hi-tech communities today… and hope to identify what that new format needs to be.