Prism LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) Youth Program will host a Meet n’ Greet event at Casa Nueva, 6 W. State St. on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
The event is being held to increase visibility for the LGBTQ youth after-school program that provides LGBTQ identifying children a comfortable, supportive environment where they are free to be themselves and free to create art.
“Prism LGBTQ youth art program is a program for LGBTQ+ identified youth ages 12 to 18,” Lacey Rogers, an organizer of the program, said. “It's basically just a safe space for those youth to hang out, meet new friends and work on some art projects, and get connected to different resources.”
The meet and greet is bringing awareness to the fundraiser supporting Prism being held throughout October at Casa Nueva.
“We are going to be there to let people know about our current fundraising going on at Casa where, if you leave a tip, all of the tips go to Prism,” Bee Irwin, a coordinator of the project, said.
The program provides LGBTQ+ children with the opportunity to do art projects, amongst other artistic endeavors.
“There's art projects each week,” Rogers said. “We have an interactivity and then a larger scale activity.”
These projects can range from things like decorating furniture, flower crown and jewelry making, to making moth man sculptures with a guest artist. A fan favorite was a group of drag queens who came in and performed, talked about the history of drag, and even showed the children how to do some drag makeup.
“We really tried to do a wide range of things, you know, based on the people that we can get to come help and do different projects for the interests of the kids themselves as well,” Rogers said.
Although a major part of the program is focused on art projects, that is not all the program has to offer.
“Sometimes the kids want to do the project, sometimes they don't, and that's OK,” Rogers said. “You know, they're not required to do the projects. It's really just supposed to be a safe space for them to hang out and, you know, meet new people and feel like they're supported.”
The program also provides the children with a way to interact with older LGBTQ identifying individuals.
“Having Prism as an after school program and as an option is really great for them to just know that there are other people like them in the community, and also there are older queer people in the community that they can look to and talk to,” Irwin said. “So, they feel less alone.”
The program, Rogers said, also offers adult connectivity and support for children who may not have that kind of support elsewhere in their life.
The adults involved with the program, including organizers with a background in counseling and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies, provide not only a caring presence in the life of the children in the program but resources they can reach out to as well.
“It was really important to all of us to kind of make this resource available from our different perspectives, and coming together, I think we make a really good team to be able to have for this group,” Rogers said.
Issues like this, although not directly involving Ohio University students, can be important to OU.
“I think it's important because people need a community, especially young kids, to kind of figure out their lives and their sexuality,” Maddie Jones, a senior studying photography, said. “It's nice to have other people to talk to and figure it out. And, you know, sometimes parents aren't very open to that stuff.”
