AUSTIN, Texas — This Pride month, we want to highlight an Austin nonprofit that has been around for nearly 35 years.
Out Youth is an organization that gives LGBTQ+ adolescents and their families a place where they are loved, acknowledged and accepted exactly as they are.
Axel is a teenager who loves being creative. Whether they're making bracelets or constructing wigs for cosplay, Axel likes to think outside the box.
But it's inside the four walls of a little blue house off East 49 ½ Street where they feel most comfortable.
"I come from the country, so over there, it's a little bit more reserved. But over here, I'm like definitely very relaxed. So I guess you could say Out Youth is somewhat of a breather in a way," Axel said.
"You know, when Out Youth started in 1990, we didn't publish our address. The only way to figure out where we were was to call. And you had to prove yourself. You had to prove that you meant us no harm in order to get the address," Jaryn Holbrook Janeway, Out Youth's director of programs and operations, said.
The nonprofit provides a supportive environment where teens like Axel can socialize.
"It is very nice to have an adult there to kind of listen to you and say. 'This is a good idea and this isn't a good idea,'" Axel said.
"And that's where we specialize, to make them feel part of a family," Holbrook Janeway said.
Out Youth is like a family where young people can open up and talk about whatever they like, participate in workshops, showcase their artwork and maybe even spend time reading from the nonprofit's expansive library filled with LGBTQ+ books.
"We depend on social emotional learning, storytelling and friendships. So what I do is not therapy, but perhaps it's therapeutic in its own way," Holbrook Janeway said.
Out Youth has recently expanded its reach. It now offers a pre-teen program for 9- to 12-year-olds, a teen program for 13- to 17-year-olds and a young adult program for 18- to 23-year-olds. They all meet on different nights of the week.
Members of Out Youth stay busy. The organization recently attended Round Rock Pride and hosted its annual teen prom.
"We are about to launch an entire media arts program to teach you how to make their own videos, podcast songs, music, video games as a way to share their stories with the world, " Holbrook Janeway said.
In a world that can sometimes be unaccepting and unkind, Out Youth said it's there to help teens like Axel feel a lot safer and a little less lonely.
In an average year, Out Youth serves approximately 2,500 clients in the programs department. But for drop-in hours, the nonprofit usually sees roughly 20 youth at a time. If you'd like to support them, you can always send donations.
Another way to help out is to tell others about Out Youth and share its message on social media.