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May 30, 2023

An area nonprofit agency is offering an opportunity to learn about LGBTQ+ identities, gender and sexuality as well as examine prejudice, assumptions and privilege.

Thanks to a generous grant from USAA, the Thrive Youth Center, which provides emergency shelter, housing, street outreach and resources to homeless LGBTQ+ young adults in San Antonio, offers “Safe Space and Language Matters” workshops, an opportunity for people to talk, learn and ask questions about sexuality and gender in a non-judgemental, safe and educational environment.

The free workshop, according to Greg Casillas, Thrive Youth Center’s assistant director, is especially relevant to organizations in Comal, Bexar, Guadalupe and Wilson counties that serve the LGBTQ+ population – adults and youths.

“It’s not just about the clients that we externally serve,” Casillas said. “It’s the clients that we have as co-workers, as referral agencies and how we provide supportive language for clients that we serve when we’re working with those outside agencies. And then what we do internally and externally to understand what a safe space is.”

The workshop sets and clarifies a common vocabulary on LGBTQ issues, provides activities and lectures that serve as a space for critical discussion and examination of privilege, bias and identity, grants participants the freedom to ask and discuss questions and empowers participants to feel personally involved and invested in issues of gender and sexuality.

“It’s the lateral learning opportunities that exist within the community and taking away some of the walls and barriers that prevent us from collaborating and cooperating with other organizations and learning from them,” Casillas said.

The curricula, activities and resources used for the workshop were co-created by Meg Bolger and Sam Killerman in 2013.

Organizations interested in attending a workshop session should contact Casillas at 210-220-2474 or email greg@thriveyouthcenter.org. Sessions are available through September.