http://www.keprtv.com/news/42236607.html?video=YHI&t=a
By Molly Kelleher KENNEWICK - Homeless youth will have a place to stay on the county's dime. It's a first And this could be the start of a bigger push to get kids off the street.
Vista Youth Center opened two years ago with a plan to provide a safe space for kids both gay and straight. But as the center grew, a bigger problem and a bigger need came to light.
"We'd ask do you have a safe place to live and what we'd get was that a lot of kids were couchsurfing not at home because they don't feel safe," said Mark Lee.
Director Mark Lee asked Benton County for help. And this week they said yes.
The county will spend nearly $6000 on an emergency voucher program.
It will let a young adult stay for free in a hotel for about a week and get a case manager's help.
But vouchers can't help kids under 18, that's the next step. "My Friend's Place" just got its non-profit status.
Organizers are scouting sites for the first youth homeless shelter in the region.
"When I see the statement of work signed by the county commissioners that says we're supporting lesbian gay bisexual and trans gender youth it makes me cry. It's incredible where we came from a place where these kids don't exist to okay at least we'll do something," said Lee.
The vouchers expire at the end of the year, but Vista Youth Center hopes to have the shelter started by then.
Power of One 2009 - April 24-26th 2009
The Power of One GLBTQ Leadership Conference is designed for GLBTQ college students and their allies to get together to share information and create positive change. The mission of the 2009 event is to explore the connections between art, faith, and politics through discussion, engagement, and collaboration.
Previously hosted by South Puget Sound Community College and Portland State University, the 2009 event will take place at University of Puget Sound and feature workshops, speakers, and social activities.
Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we are able to offer several scholarships for students interested in attending Power of One at the University of Puget Sound.
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University of Puget Sound
Multicultural Student Services
1500 N. Warner Campus Mailbox #1082
Tacoma, WA 98416
(p) 253-879-3373 (f) 253-879-3810
www.ups.edu/power-of-one
Celebrate VYC's 2nd anniversary with us!
Anniversary Open House — 12:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Vista Youth Center, 2625 W Bruneau Pl, Ste E, Kennewick, WA
Tours, Meet Staff, and a special showing of 'In One Room' at 2.30p
Got questions? Answers are here 509-396-5198.
FREEE
Become an VYC Sponsor? Call 509-396-5198
Paper Products:
Sm. Bowls, 8-10”Plates, 8 oz Cups, Toilet Paper, Paper Towels
Plastic Products:
Spoons, Forks, 39 gal garbage bags, 13 gal garbage bags
Cleaning Products:
Toilet cleaner, glass cleaner, surface cleaner
FOOD ITEMS:
Frozen Food, heat and eat items are a hit! We have lots of freezer space to fill (two upright freezers and two household refrigerator freezers are empty.) Also, canned soups, stews, ravioli’s etc are welcome. Fruits and vege’s are always needed. Fresh is better, but canned is fine too! Hotdogs & buns are big hits too.
WISH LIST:
We have three printers and frequently run out of ink… So, if you are at office depot or office max and don’t mind picking up some ink for us, here’s the numbers of the inks we use:
HP 74 & 75 Ink
HP 02 Inks in all colors (including black)
HP 97 & 96 Ink
AA-Batteries
Want to find out more about what we do?
Sign up (yourself and others) to receive our Electronic Newsletter:
email program_dir@vistayouthcenter.org
Reminder: Check Myspace.com for info about closures due to weather or assume if Kennewick Schools close due to weather assume we will too.
Also: We will be closed the last two weeks of the year....
When You Believe:
- A wonderful array of local talent will shower you with an amazing concert of holiday classics. Please join us for this special evening dedicated to Vista Youth Center.
When: Saturday December 13th - 7p
Where: Pasco 1st United Methodist Church
at 6th & Clark in Pasco, WA
Call 509-396-5198 for more details
100+ Resources for Coming Out of the Closet:
“In One Room,” a documentary play based on more than 100 interviews conducted in 2002 with gay, lesbian and questioning youth under the age of 25, will make its Tri-Cities debut on Thursday, Nov. 6.
The play, which be performed at Community Unitarian Church in Pasco (CUUC) at 8 p.m., is written and directed by Jimmy Maize, a 2002 Whitman graduate who currently writes, directs, acts and produces theater in New York. “Representing towns across the country, big and small, these stories are meant to create a pastiche of growing up gay in 21st century America,” said Maize. This production of the play is sponsored by The Pride Foundation and the Whitman College GLBTQ; proceeds will go to support the VISTA Youth Center in (Kennewick).
“In One Room” was first performed in 2002 on the Whitman College campus, where it received the college’s David Nord Award. Whitman GLBTQ presents the play annually in order to foster a dialogue of diversity and acceptance on campus. When the play debuted at the Bailiwick Repertory Theater in Chicago in 2003, it received the theater’s first college/university playwriting competition. In 2005 it was presented in New York City by “Tosos II,” the city’s first gay theater company.
Maize is the artistic director of “The Theater Bureau,” a New York company comprised largely of Whitman College graduates. He works with Tectonic Theater Project, and he has recently begun tracking the changes in Laramie, Wyo., as the tenth anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s murder approaches. When complete, his research will result in a production afterword to the company’s “The Laramie Project.”
CUUC is at 2819 W. Sylvester Street, Pasco, WA 99301 509.545.6777
