Sometimes there isn't a happy ending. Sometimes there aren't parents to rely on for support or even a home to go to for reprieve. However, Youth Pride Services Inc. (YPS) is working to eliminate those situations for GLBTQA youth of color.
Famous Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky coined the famous saying that a society is ultimately judged by how it treats its weakest and most vulnerable. Even now, no society is without its marginalized groups of people who unfortunately fall between the cracks. There's no secret that minorities and other marginalized groups of people are, at times, most susceptible to state power and governmental decisions.
YPS attempts to seal those cracks with its mission to educate, empower and engage GLBTQA youth of color, homeless youth, and youth who identify as HIV positive through its programs and social education. Started by then-23-year-old Frank Walker in October 2003, YPS was a product of Walker's passion for giving back to youth by creating a space where youth of color can express themselves while excelling in life. Initially, Walker worked as a volunteer for Center on Halsted when it was known as Horizons. Although it was a positive experience, he noticed the cultural difference among the youth of color who came to Horizons for assistance and the predominately white employees who were working with the youth. Therefore, Walker set out to develop an organization that not only was led by youth of color but was easily accessible to youth of color in their selected areas.
"When I worked at Horizons, I was the only African-American employee there. All the youth were of color but none of the workers were. I decided to start something that was youth-led, but not on the North Side," said Walker.
As a grassroots social service agency, YPS specializes in serving queer youth of color independent of sexual orientation, income or education. Interestingly enough, YPS boasts the Youth Pride Center (YPC), where the very people who YPS serves and targets are of the very same age demographic who runs the center, age 21 and below; youth advocating, helping, and assisting youth.
Therefore, the youth-led center has developed an institution were youth can learn and benefit from one another through one of its core educational programs in health, mentorship, life lessons and skills, and other educational workshops. YPS alum D-Ontace Keys, 21, worked with Walker on youth programming services and development centered on young men who have sex with men. In particular, Keys worked as the entertainment director for the Living Legends Gala, an annual event that honors influential African-American community leaders. As a Tide Colin Higgins Foundation award recipient of $10,000, Keys is grateful for his past experience at YPS, a factor he believes contributed in him winning the award.
"Youth Pride Services really gave me a foundation. I really want to work in nonprofit. So, Youth Pride Services really started off my resume. Even now, I still keep YPS on my resume because it's such a major part of life," said Keys.
In addition to Youth Pride Center, YPS also includes the Frankie Foundation, a collection of YPS alumni, and F Magazine, now a national youth-led magazine with a circulation of 4,000. Walker is happy to spread his vision to other markets including Miami and Seattle. Celebrities such as actor Marcus Patrick and Noah's Arc Darryl Stephens have graced the cover of F Magazine.
"There are now youth centers in other parts of the country that pay for the magazine in bulk. We have shipped magazines out to Miami, Seattle, and Boston. F Magazine is leaning towards a national approach to the issues and policies addressed by youth of color," said Walker.
Simply put, 2010 was a good year for YPS. Through awards from state and city programs such as the City of Chicago Apprenticeship, Illinois YES and Put Illinois to Work, the organization employed a record 217 youth and young adults last summer.
The organization was also honored and excited to attend Washington D.C.'s National Best Practices Summit 2010, where members presented Youth Pride Center's Caution: Youth at Hope, Not at Risk campaign to other attendees and organizations represented at the summit. According to the campaign's presentation material for the summit, Caution was a campaign designed by youth as a play on words for youth to take control of their current situation in the areas of finances, education, self-esteem and social activities. With more than 100 responses, the campaign connected youth with one another for HIV testing, assistance, and other services offered by YPC. Those youth who tested positive were then linked to proper healthcare.
Walker, now the former president, has moved to Washington D.C. to develop a national GLBTQA youth of color organization. Nineteen-year-old Nathan Anderson of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana is currently the president of YPS. While in D.C. Walker has joined other youth national boards and although he is no longer the face of YPS, he continues to lobby in support youth of color. Walker is confident he has left the organization in good hands.
"I give all the credit to the youth," said Walker. "I always feel bad or weird for receiving credit for Youth Pride Service Inc. We have one of the largest youth governments in the nation and that's because of the youth. The youth does all the work."