ACCESS is now hiring youth interns!!! Find out more.
ACCESS Project is a pilot project collaboration with LYRIC, Youth in Focus, and CUAV to build the power of LGBTQQ youth to increase access to vital services in San Francisco. Funded by the Department of Children, Youth and their Families (DCYF).
The goals of the ACCESS project are to:
- Empower LGBTQQ youth to take a leadership role to eliminate barriers to full participation and representation in the community;
- Deepen San Francisco provider community's understanding and awareness of issues affecting LGBTQQ youth and their families; build bridges among and between LGBTQ communities and other communities;
- Strengthen the infrastructure of existing community-based organizations to better serve LGBTQQ persons;
- Increase the visibility of and access by LGBTQQ youth and their families to important community services.
The objectives are:
- Utilizing a LGBTQQ youth-adult team, facilitate a community assessment of practices that support LGBTQQ youth access and engagement by administering (a) a simple survey across a broad spectrum of youth and family serving agenceies, and (b) comprehensive assessments with a pilot group of 6 community based organizations (CBOs) (3 per year);
- Utilizing a LGBTQQ youth-adult team, provide capacity building training and technical assistance to organizations applying LGBTQQ culturally competent practices into organizational practices and programming (a) with an initial pilot group of 6 CBOs (3 per year), and (b) through development of a tool-kit;
- Utilizing the existing DCYF CMS, support institutionalization of grantee demographic data collection of participant sexual orientation and gender identity based on participant self-identification;
- Utilizing the existing DCYF standards dramework, support institutionalization of culturally competent practices for LGBTQQ youth and their families by collaboratively establishing applicable minimum and high quality program standards for all DCYF grantees;
- Support a LGBTQQ youth-led community campaign to build awareness and understanding about sexual orientation and gender identity using lesson learned and success stories from the ACCESS project pilot.
The project structure will be a youth-adult partnership that will facilitate the project throug its 3 phases: (1) ENGAGEMENT AND PLANNING, (2) IMPLEMENTATION, and (3) COMMUNITY IMPACT.
