Who We Are & What We Do
From activism and advocacy to community education and safe space facilitation, Y4AC is involved in a vast array of community engagement initiatives with LGBTQA2SI+ youth in Surrey, BC and beyond.
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youth for a change launched on March 12th, 2012. Almost 50 different youth have been through our doors and more if you count the ones who've attended our events and functions. So we are about to celebrate our 10th anniversary if you would like to join us just leave your contact information here.
Education & Training Workshops
Over the years we've provided a number of workshops to organizations including
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SD36 (Surrey School Board),
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Surrey RCMP,
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various YMCA branches,
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community workers,
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highschool teachers,
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and other youth organizations.
Our topics range from Inclusive Language and Best Practices in the Workplace; to Healthy Teen Relationships; to Youth Experiencing Homelessness.
Listen to the Podcast
Locally based adults volunteered to tell their stories around what is often billed as the ‘decriminalization of homosexuality’ in 1969 with the passing of the These were recorded by SFU History students.
Then young LGBTQ2SIA Surrey folks listened and entered into conversation with these histories.
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We Are Authors!
In 2017 we and the QUIRKEs (queer imaging and riting kollective for elders), published our book "Basically Queer."
Find our more here. Why not ask your library to order this book for their collection?!
All Bodies Swim
Y4AC consulted with and then partnered with City of Surrey Parks and Recreation staff to host 3 all body swims before COVID closed those down.
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Yearly Queer Art Shows
Over the years (pre COVID) we annually hosted a LGBTQ2SIA+ art show with the Arts Council of New Westminster at the beginning of New Westminster Pride week.
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Drag Queen Bingo
We hosted three different events with local drag queen extraordinaire Myria Le Noir calling the numbers and escorted by then EPAMA President Martin Rooney. Great fun, lots of sparkly, rainbow, unicorn themed prizes.
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November 2016 – Two of Y4AC’s youth as panel members.
T Word Panel, Queer Voices,
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
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We're back at it again with our Artbomb in The Grove in Newton, Surrey. Tag us on Instagram if you see our art! @youth_4achange
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Artbomb in the Grove 2019
2019 Surrey Pride
We had an absolute blast at Surrey Pride in July 2019! We shared our poetry and spoken word pieces with the community and met some amazing new friends! Leave us a comment if you where there!
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LGBT Elder Abuse Awareness Campaign
In a unique inter-generational project, that brought together queer youth with queer senior citizen creative writers (“Quirk-e“), Gloria Gutman and her team from Simon Fraser University’s Gerontology Research Centre created a set of videos and posters and fact sheets designed to raise awareness and address elder abuse in the LGBTQ2SIA+ community.
These were premiered in 6 Town Hall meetings held in Surrey, Nelson, Vancouver, Prince George, Kelowna and Victoria British Columbia between Febuary 10 and March 3, 2016.
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