Late last fall, Youth First Texas announced that it would be seeking to fill a staff position for a Youth Program Coordinator, a newly created part-time role designed with an emphasis on programs coordination, community liaisoning and team building within Youth First Texas.  The Board of Directors elected to fill the position on an interim basis while candidate interviews and the selection process continues.  Amie McNamara, a long-time volunteer with Youth First Texas who recently completed her Master of Science in Counseling through the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human …

Help GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) inform education policymakers and the public about what’s really going on in our nation’s schools by completing the 2011 National School Climate Survey, GLSEN’s seventh national survey about the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth in school.
If you attended high school or middle school sometime during the last school year (2010-2011) and are at least 13 years old, tell us about your experiences in school.  (If you did not complete
the entire school year you can still participate in …

In the midst of April, National Poetry Month, the youth of Youth First Texas began sharpening their pencils and preparing for the Poetry Contest. Each youth was asked to submit at least three poems. Along with each submission, they were asked to place only the title of the poem on the paper, and on a separate cover page there would be the contact information of the contributor. In doing so, the nature of the judging would remain unbiased and completely fair. The judging …

Youth First Texas recently learned that the rolling blackouts in late February damaged our telephone system, causing us to miss some calls and preventing us from retrieving any voicemails left in the system.  This combined with the ever increasing network load of over a dozen computers on a DSL line led the board of directors to secure funding for a serious overhaul and upgrade of our telecommunication capabilities.  Our upgrades include a virtual VOIP telephone system with a new functioning voicemail system, a full T1 for internet access available from …

On Sunday, March 6th, 11 youth, accompanied by two volunteers, made their way down to Austin to participate in Lobby Day 2011. Their goal was to talk with as many legislators as possible about the anti-bullying bill called Asher’s Law and the Education Works bill, which promotes LGBT-inclusive sex education in schools. Three youth recorded their experiences, not only while “on the job,” but also while “out and about” in the city of Austin.
While the ride down to Austin was a little cramped for some, there was an overall feeling …