Friday 13th November marks the tenth anniversary of Cara-Friend’s Gay & Lesbian Youth Northern Ireland – a peer-led group supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender young people in Northern Ireland.

Over the years, GLYNI has supported hundreds of young LGBT people through our message boards and resource-based websites, weekly workshops and social events such as our popular drop-in on Friday nights in Belfast’s city centre – an alternative to the commercial scene for many, offering internet, games, music and a bit of craic for those just wanting to hang out with friends.

We have also taken part in campaigns and projects designed to affect change for young people in Northern Ireland, including the Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland that is due out for consultation soon. Two of the most significant of these projects are the development of our own What’s In Your Closet? resource in 2007, designed to support young LGBT people and their parents when dealing with coming out, and this year the OUTstanding Youth Work Training Programme (along with members of the LGBT Consortium coordinated by Youthnet), a two day training programme aimed at youth workers wishing to explore the issues affecting young LGBT people they may work with.

Recently, to mark our tenth anniversary, we have lowered the minimum age of our group to 14 years of age. Recognising that young LGBT people at this age are in need of support and friendship from their peers, and whilst society has moved on with greater legislative protections for LGBT people, many young LGBT people are still disadvantaged in the areas of education and youth services, and accessing youth groups such as GLYNI may be the only source of support they receive at such an early age.

Through the appointment of a fulltime youth worker, funded by Youthnet/DENI’s Section 75 Outreach Initiative, we have also been developing a new group in Enniskillen, called The Voice, supporting LGBT young people aged 14-18 – this group forms part of GLYNI Fermanagh, and we hope it will be the first of many new GLYNI groups around Northern Ireland.

We’d like to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to all those individuals and organisations who have supported us over the years, from our own parent organisation, Cara-Friend and its staff and volunteers, to staff at Youthnet and others from across the statutory and voluntary sectors including our past/current funders at DENI and YCNI.

We’d especially like to thank our friends and colleagues in the LGBT Sector across NI, from all the various organisations and groups who have supported our ethos, referred a young person to us or promoted us in their own areas. We are grateful for your support, and look forward to a bright future with you all. Today, there are more groups providing support to young LGBT people than there were ten years ago. This is testament to the strength and resilience of our community, to the hard work of staff and volunteers, and is evidence of the continuous need for resources and commitment to providing lifelines to the youth of today.

Lastly, we’d like to thank all our members, past and present, for all their blood, sweat, tears, love, hard work, commitment and dedication to making GLYNI into the youth service that we are today. We would not have made it to our tenth anniversary without your love, support and friendship. You may have been in the group only once, or like me, for nearly ten years, but your contribution has enabled us to build a strong support base for all our members, and has strengthened our reputation amongst young people, their parents and professionals across the board.

From those early days in 1999 in the dingy old rooms of Cathedral Buildings (for many of us, a second home) to 2009 and the bright new surroundings of the First Floor in Waring Street, here’s to ten more successful years of doing what we do best – supporting young LGBT people!!

For further information on our services in Belfast and Enniskillen, please contact me (Liam Larmour, Regional Development Youth Officer) at Cara-Friend, on 028 9089 0202 or by email liam.larmour@glyni.org.uk (website www.glyni.org.uk)

(Image from http://cakehead.com)

Since 1999 GLYNI has been working towards creating a better Northern Ireland for LGBT young people by providing a safe space for us to come to and talk about the issues that affect us!

Today its a fast growing safe space for LGBT young people to come along, hang out, learn cool new stuff and enjoy a cup of tea!

Last Friday GLYNI members celebrated with a fairy cake and a Futurama DVD.

This coming Monday GLYNI will be holding a workshop about Bullying and Homophobia facilitated by our very own Drop-in Co-ordinator Adam.

If you fancy coming along to GLYNI and haven’t yet contacted us, why not get in touch by contacting us using the links above!

Anyway, hope y’all have an awesome week!

~Sean’sfirstblogposthiphiphorray…