Today is the National Day of Silence.

To honor the struggle of the queer and straight youth that are targeted for violence due to their perceived or real sexual and gender identity, Carnelius and I hit the streets with these posters, and flyers with information describing the purpose of The Day of Silence and pointing them to our website for more information about how everyone can do their part to end violence, discrimination, and the silence of targeted individuals in our community.

We began at 235 Montgomery, in front of our rather intimidating office, and made a parade to Market, to Powell and Union Square and back again. We gave out at least 50 flyers and were surprised at some of the responses we got.

Mostly, people ignored us, or tried to hid the fact that they were reading our signs. One woman asked us if we were for or against gay people. We tried to indicate (without speaking) that we were in fact friends of queers everywhere. She responded “Good, they’re people too!” I had one man tell me, “You aren’t a dyke. You’re sexy” and some people were  sad to hear the statistics but happy wee were out raising awareness.

Overall, I think it was a good experience. Just because I’m lucky enough to be finished with school (for now) doesn’t mean I can turn my back on the reality that the world is still not safe for queer youth and adults. The least I can do is spend an hour in silence, standing up for the silenced individuals, including the clueless “straight girl” from Ohio that I used to be.

One of the first steps to getting a new home for HIFY is to get a pulse on our community and what you all think the needs are for Bay Area youth. And the quickest way to get these answers is to host a focus group!

Now, Focus Groups may not sound like a huge amount of fun, but you’ve never done a HIFY focus group before! We will have snacks, icebreakers, and conversations about what matters to you.

The Focus Group will take place March 25, 2010 4pm-6pm

We will be holding two groups simultaneously, one for Adult Providers, and one for Youth. Space is limited, so reserve your spot by filling out a short survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9PMRHS6

We hope to see you there!

<3 to all of our friends @ Dimensions and with Queer Core

1. Spread the news about this project/site. Consider linking to your sites and signing up to get emails about updates. We need to have a group of people in the loop to help us target the youth and adults that haven’t been connected to our services before.

2. Comment on the blog. Whether it’s something that you hate, or something that you love, tell us how you feel! We want this to be a conversation with the community!

3. Write us a letter of support. (or create some other form of endorsement). Most of our business is through word of mouth, and it’s your mouths (the allies in the community) that does the best work.  Tell us why you love us, what you love about us, and what you hope the future of HIFY looks like.

This weeks blog is regarding the latest issue of SF Guardian. The “G Spot Issue” has less to do about the controversial Graphenburg Spot and more to do with Valentines Day and events. Good Vibrations has declared February National G-Spot month but so far not much news about how we’re all supposed to celebrate.

SF Guardian isn’t alone in being shy to talk about the G-Spot, it’s one of many topics that are often left out of conversations with youth. This is impossible to separate from the fear that comes from talking about youth having sex in general.

We need to put aside our own fear and judgment and begin thinking about how to create healthier sex lives for today’s youth. If you expect them to wait until marriage, you’ll be disappointed. (and what about all the queer youth that aren’t legally permitted to get married?)

Talking frankly about the logistics of sex and normalizing the language of sex and desire will create healthier youth.

Just imagine, if students left class feeling comfortable talking about sex in the classroom, it might be easier to bring up when they’re with their partners. How can we expect young people to bring up conversations about condoms or other barriers, if we don’t expect them to be able to talk about the fun stuff like pleasure?

This February, take some time to do your own research on the G-Spot and P-Spot. Knowing how the body works can really kick up your sex life. And the better the sex life, the more confident you’re going to be standing up for your own wants and needs in relationships.

For more conversation about these topics and to celebrate Valentines Day in style  come to our Love(R)/Hate(R) party for LGBTQIQ Youth and allies that will take place February 13th 12-3pm @ Dimensions Clinic.

Hope to see you there!

It’s become increasingly obvious that we need to have a space that is rooted in a community that we serve. Our current location lacks accessibility to many, and lacks a youth development feel to all. Our space restrictions have also caused issues as we’ve had to use other spaces to host trainings and events. Our office is holding us back, and with the new decade beginning we thought that we should wait no longer before asking for your help.

Help us Build a HIFY House.  It may sound like a big project but it’s really quite simple. We’re already paying rent at our current location, so it would be easy to switch to paying mortgage payments.

We just need a down payment and a vote of confidence from the community.

HIFY has been in the community for 18 years and unfortunately has lost touch with many of our earlier fans and friends. We want to reconnect with the community to help spread the word about resources that we provide and hear from the community what’s lacking and how we should focus our energy.

This is an opportunity for Everyone to get involved. Money helps! but your interest in the life and longevity of HIFY is a much greater gift. Please consider signing up to receive our monthly emails that include HIFY updates as well as other community health news. Sign up to join our mailing list and receive our quarterly newsletter. Become a fan on Facebook. Write us a letter (or even comment on this blog) describing your experience with HIFY. Check back to see how the fundraiser is going. Spread the word. Get creative! This is a unique opportunity for us to talk as a community and dream together.

Join our Fight to relocate and re-imagine the scope of our work.

What is health to you?