LGBTQ+ Youth
At The Center we offer various types of LGBTQ+ youth programming across the Coachella Valley. These services, based out of our Center Coachella location, include:
Wednesdays at The Center are Youth Wednesdays! We have youth hangouts in Palm Desert, Coachella, and Palm Springs. Our youth hangouts allow a safe and comfortable space for youth 10-18 to gather. We do crafts and art projects, play games, and watch films.
Community Activities
Each month we try to offer queer and trans youth the opportunity to try new things in and around our community. These include youth hikes with our partner Friends of the Desert Mountains, ice skating at the Berger Foundation Iceplex, bowling, and more.
Youth Summer Program
How we connect with LGBTQ+ young people and families is just as important to us as the spaces and programs we create. When you connect with our team, you can expect us to recognize the power dynamics often present between youth and adults which may impact youth vulnerability to external pressures and compliance with authority. Keeping this in mind, we work to encourage youth in decision making, highlight youth voice, and empower young people.
Gender Euphoria Accessories Program
Our free Gender Euphoria Accessories Program is open to the local trans, nonbinary, and gender expansive community. This service is completely confidential, and a variety of items are available. For more information, please contact jasper@thecentercv.org.
Connect with The Center Coachella team
How we connect with LGBTQ+ young people and families is just as important to us as the spaces and programs we create. When you connect with The Center Coachella team, you can expect us to recognize the power dynamics often present between youth and adults which may impact youth vulnerability to external pressures and compliance with authority. Keeping this in mind, we work to encourage youth in decision-making, highlight youth voices, and empower young people. We do our best to keep in mind the presence of power imbalances.
Our staff who work with youth put youth safety at the forefront. We offer Community Agreements in our spaces, which helps ensure our accountability to one another. Some Community Agreements include:
- Treating others with respect and embracing differences
- Honoring everyone’s privacy and identity
- Respecting personal boundaries and consent
- Confidentiality (What is said in the space stays in the space)
We ask that you follow these Community Agreements and offer you to contribute your own when you join us!
Please note, we do ask all young people under the age of 18 to provide us with an Emergency Contact form for safety reasons, which you can fill out online here.
For more information on youth services or specific programs, please contact jasper@thecentercv.org.
Reach out to us!
