Recommended Links

The sites listed below will take you out of Youth Pride, Inc.’s website. They are organized by: Information Hotlines and Support, National Links, Local Advocacy Links, Local Support for Parents and Families, Local Youth Organizations and Resources, Local Transgender-Specific Organizations, Other Transgender-Specific Online Resources, Domestic Abuse Support, Mental Health and Trauma Resources, Medical Health and Insurance Resources, Safer Sex Info, Food Assistance, Food Stamps, and Transitional Housing, and Other Websites to Check Out.

Information Hotlines and Support:

National Links:

Advocates for Youth www.advocatesforyouth.org/glbtq.htm
A website dedicated to people interested in advocating for LGBTQ youth.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) www.aclu.org 
The mission of the ACLU is to preserve First Amendment rights - freedom of speech, association and assembly; freedom of the press, and freedom of religion; right to equal protection under the law - equal treatment regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin; right to due process - fair treatment by the government whenever the loss of your liberty or property is at stake; right to privacy - freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into your personal and private affairs.

ACLU Get Equal Campaign www.aclu.org/getequal
America is focused on LGBT rights as never before, which gives us the chance to frame the public dialogue on equality. Since every step forward is met with resistance, we've got to fight smart to win. On this website is a complete toolkit to help you protect your relationships (including fighting for marriage), find resources on parenting, make schools safe, fight against LGBT discrimination, and, for all issues, organize effectively.

Child Welfare League of America www.cwla.org 
The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) is an association of nearly 800 public and private nonprofit agencies that assist more than 3.5 million abused and neglected children and their families each year with a range of services. CWLA, in partnership with Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund (http://www.lambdalegal.org) are working together to build the child welfare system's capacity to deal equitably and constructively with young people, family members, and employees who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning their sexual orientation (LGBTQ), with particular emphasis on those making the transition to adulthood.

Children Of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere (COLAGE) www.colage.org
COLAGE's mission is to engage, connect, and empower people to make the world a better place for children of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender parents and families.

Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) www.glsen.org
The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network strives to assure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. Check out their website for great resources for safe schools and Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) organizing tools.

Gay-Straight Alliance Network www.gsanetwork.org
This is California’s statewide GSA network website. Check out their great resources for safe schools organizing. Empowering youth to fight homophobia and transphobia in schools.

Human Rights Campaign (HRC) www.hrc.org
The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality.

LAMBDA Legal www.lambdalegal.org
Lambda Legal is the oldest national organization pursuing high-impact litigation, public education and advocacy on behalf of equality and civil rights for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and people with HIV.

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) www.thetaskforce.org
The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. We do this by training activists, equipping state and local organizations with the skills needed to organize broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and building the organizational capacity of our movement.

National Youth Advocacy Coalition www.nyacyouth.org
The National Youth Advocacy Coalition is a social justice organization that advocates for and with young people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) in an effort to end discrimination against these youth and to ensure their physical and emotional-well being.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) www.pflag.org
PFLAG is a national non-profit organization with over 200,000 members and supporters and over 500 affiliates in the United States. PFLAG promotes the health and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons, their families and friends through: support, to cope with an adverse society; education, to enlighten an ill-informed public; and advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays provides opportunity for dialogue about sexual orientation and gender identity, and acts to create a society that is healthy and respectful of human diversity.

QueerAmerica Database http://www.queeramerica.com
The largest collection of queer resources in the nation, including information about community centers, support organizations, PFLAG chapters and more. A project of the National Coalition for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth.

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Local Avocacy Links:

COLAGE Rhode Island www.colage.org
COLAGE is a national movement of children, youth, and adults with one or more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer (LGBTQ) parents. We build community and work toward social justice through youth empowerment, leadership development, education, and advocacy.  For more information about Rhode Island's chapter, contact: rhodeisland@colage.org.

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) www.glad.org
Founded in 1978, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is New England’s leading legal rights organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status and gender identity and expression. Providing litigation, advocacy, and educational work in all areas of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights and the rights of people living with HIV, GLAD has a full-time legal staff and a network of cooperating attorneys across New England.

Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI) www.marriageequalityri.org
MERI is a grassroots movement that seeks legal recognition of same-sex couples through civil marriage in Rhode Island. MERI believes that a civil society guarantees to all of its citizens certain civil rights; civil marriage is one of these fundamental rights. Each and every adult in Rhode Island - regardless of socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation - deserves the opportunity to attain the legal protections and safeguards gained through civil marriage.

Ocean State Action (OSA) www.oceanstateaction.org
Ocean State Action is a proudly progressive coalition of community organizations, environmental groups, professional associations, and labor unions working together to win public policy and political victories for economic, social and environmental justice. Our shared vision for Rhode Island is a community where the ideals of equality, justice and the common good prevail -- where businesses thrive and where every Rhode Islander has access to quality health care, education, housing and livable wage jobs that support them and their families in achieving their fullest potential.

Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE) www.daretowin.org
DARE's mission is to organize low income families in communities of color to win economic, social and political justice. As a multilingual and multiracial organization, DARE is a dynamic national leader in carrying out innovative campaigns that hold government and cooperate institutions accountable. A key to DARE's success is the understanding these campaigns built of the ways racism and sexism are a fundamental part of oppression in low income communities.

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Local Support for Parents and Families:

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) South Central Rhode Island www.pflagscri.org
Monthly PFLAG South Central RI meetings are held the 2nd Monday of each month from 7:00 - 9:00 pm at the Westminster Unitarian Church in East Greenwich. We'll have a brief summary of current LGBT news events followed by sharing and mutual support.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Greater Providence www.pflagprovidence.org
Monthly PFLAG Greater Providence meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month from 6:45-8:45 pm at The Met School Justice Building, 325 Public St, Providence, RI.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) East Bay
Monthly PFLAG East Bay meetings are held on the third Thursday of the month at 7pm at Riverside Congregational Church, Bullocks Point and Oak avenues.  For information, call 952-6720.

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Fall River, MA
Monthly PFLAG Fall River meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month from 7-9pm at Durfee High School, 360 Elsbree St. Room 101.  Use the main entrance.  Contacts: Mary Zema, Marianne Quinn (401)391-1874, zemawoman@verizon.net.

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Local Youth Organizations and Resources:

Broad Street Studio www.as220.org/bss
BSS is a transitional arts program that employs and engages Rhode Island youth, but focuses specifically on those recently released from the state's juvenile detention facility, the Rhode Island Training School (R.I.T.S.), and those under the wing of the Department of Children, Youth and Families.

College Visions http://www.myspace.com/collegevisions
Do you know you want to go to college but don’t know where to start? No transportation to visit colleges? Need help with your college essay? Worried about how to pay for college applications and apply for financial aid? If these concerns sound familiar, College Visions might be right for you. Contact college@as220.org for more information.

Newport County Youth Connect www.ncyouthconnect.org
NCYC stands for Newport County Youth Council. We are a group of local teens from Newport, Middletown, Jamestown, Portsmouth, Tiverton, & Little Compton working together to impact our communities in positive ways. We focus on social issues like education, the environment, and peace & justice. We also plan fun events for our peers.

New Urban Arts www.newurbanarts.org
New Urban Arts is a nationally recognized interdisciplinary arts studio for high school students and emerging artists in Providence, Rhode Island. Our mission is to build a vital community that empowers young people to develop a creative practice they can sustain throughout their lives. We provide studio, exhibition space, and mentoring for young artists who explore the visual, performing, and literary arts through yearlong free out-of-school programs.

Southeast Asian Queers United for Education and Leadership (seaQuel) www.prysm.us
Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM) is a grass-roots, multiracial youth activist organization. seaQuel is a program of PrYSM that responds to critical issues identified by Southeast Asian LGBTQ youth. seaQuel hosts information meetings and social events fostering community for this growing population in Rhode Island.

Youth in Action www.youthinactionri.org
Youth In Action (YIA) is a non-profit youth development organization in Providence, Rhode Island. At YIA, high school youth gain the skills, resiliency, and determination to be successful adults. For almost 10 years, YIA has provided opportunities for more than 650 youth to exercise their highest level of leadership. YIA is at the forefront of youth leadership, receiving national recognition for its ground-breaking model in which youth compose the majority of YIA's Board of Directors and lead all of its programs. Not only do youth master important life-skills, but they also gain confidence in themselves and increase their academic achievement. YIA's model, which combines advanced leadership training with intensive individual support, empowers youth to become extraordinary leaders.

Young Voices www.youngvoicesri.org
Young Voices transforms urban youth into powerful advocates who have a voice in every aspect of their lives. Through our 6-month Leadership Transformation Academy, youth learn advanced research, public speaking, and debating skills. The Academy prepares youth to sit at the table as partners with powerful adults, helping them to shape policies that will succeed at improving the lives of all young people.

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Local Transgender-Specific Organizations:

Lifelines Rhode Island www.lifelinesri.org
Lifelines Rhode Island is the only statewide need-based civil rights, multi-service non-profit organization focused on meeting the needs of transgender, transsexual, Two Spirit, gender variant, and intersex (TGI) people in Rhode Island and surrounding regions. We are here for you and your friends, partners, co-workers, service providers, and families. We are also committed to increasing TGI awareness in health & human service environments and to challenging transphobia, mistreatment of intersex people and people with Variations of Sex Development (VSD), and discrimination against TGI people in mainstream and gay, lesbian, & bisexual (GLB) communities. Some of our services include advocacy, educational materials, health and sexuality workshops, provider and agency trainings, outreach, support services, and social events.

Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) www.masstpc.org
The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) is dedicated to ending discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression. We educate the public, lobby state and local government, encourage political activism, and empower community members through collective action.

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Other Transgender-Specific Oinline Resources:

Transproud www.transproud.com
Transproud is a World Wide Web site for transgender youth with a wide range of resources available for youth and educators by clicking on any icon to get to the related subject area.

TransYouth Family Advocates http://imatyfa.org/
A coalition of parents, friends and caring adults dedicated to educating and raising public awareness about the medical and cultural challenges faced by children with gender variant and gender questioning identities and the families who love them.

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Domestic Abuse Support:

Sojourner House www.sojourner-house.org
Sojourner House offers a comprehensive network of support that helps victims of domestic violence rebuild their lives, piece by piece. The rebuilding process takes place on all levels, and supports our clients' physical and emotional well-being. Our help can begin with emergency support and crisis intervention, if necessary, and can also include providing shelter, counseling, legal advocacy, and addressing any other special needs a victim might have. Additionally, the agency supports the Rhode Island community in domestic violence prevention by offering a variety of educational and awareness programs. Sojourner House also has a LBGT Advocacy Program, focusing on the needs of LGBT people.

Women’s Resource Center of Newport and Bristol Counties www.wrcnbc.org
Leading domestic violence prevention through the empowerment of individuals and the community by providing advocacy, education and support services.

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Mental Health and Trauma Resources:

Day One www.dayoneri.org
Day One provides services to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, and other violent crimes and educates the public throughout the state of Rhode Island. Day One accepts a variety of insurances as well as offer services on a sliding-scale fee for people without insurance.

Providence Center www.providencecenter.org
The Providence Center mission is to help adults, children and adolescents throughout Rhode Island who are affected by mental health difficulties, including psychiatric illness, emotional problems, behavior problems and substance abuse, by providing treatment and supportive services within a community setting.

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Medical Health and Insurance Resources:

Planned Parenthood of Rhode Island www.ppri.org
A private nonprofit agency, providing high quality, affordable and confidential family planning services. We provide reproductive health care, counseling and education to women and men of all ages. Has a teen health center that provides Routine Gynecological (GYN) Care, Birth Control/Contraceptive Services, Emergency Contraception (EC), Pregnancy Testing and Counseling, Screening & Treatment for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), HIV Testing and Counseling, and Limited Male Services.

Rhode Island Community Health Center Association www.rihca.org
The Rhode Island Health Center Association's mission is to improve the quality and delivery of primary health care in Rhode Island, particularly for medically indigent and under-served people. Check out this site for a directory of community health centers throughout Rhode Island, which accept a variety of insurances as well as offer services on a sliding-scale fee for people without insurance.

RIte Care http://www.dhs.state.ri.us/dhs/famchild/shcare.htm
RIte Care provides families on the Family Independence Program and eligible uninsured pregnant women, parents, and children up to age 19 with comprehensive health coverage. Families receive most of their health care through one of three participating Health Plans: Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island, United Healthcare of New England and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of RI. Check out this page to find out if you are eligible for RIte care and for information on how to apply.

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Safer Sex Info:

Planned Parenthood www.plannedparenthood.org
Planned Parenthood health centers offer high-quality sexual and reproductive health care, including family planning, gynecological care, STI/STD testing and treatment, pregnancy testing, and abortion services.

Sex, Etc. www.sexetc.org
A website by teens, for teens. They have a great section on GLBTQ issues!

teenwire.com www.teenwire.com
teenwire.com is an award-winning sexual health Web site for teens. We are committed to giving you the facts about sex so that you can use this information to make your own responsible choices. We provide honest and nonjudgmental information about sexuality in language you can understand with the hope that you will use this knowledge to reduce your risk of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.

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Food Assistance, Food Stamps and Transitional Housing:

Rhode Island Community Food Bank www.rifoodbank.org
For twenty-five years, the Rhode Island Community Food Bank has worked to ensure that every Rhode Islander has access to the healthy, nutritious food they need. The Food Bank distributes approximately nine million pounds of food to Rhode Islanders in need through a network of nearly 400 member agencies.

Food Stamps Program http://www.dhs.state.ri.us/dhs/famchild/fsfamchi.htm
The Department of Human Services (DHS) Food Stamp Program helps families, who may be working but are still struggling financially, to buy food and provide nutritional meals for themselves. Check out this site to find out if you are eligible for this service.

URI Food, Hunger & Nutrition Partnership www.uri.edu/fhn/outreach_3.htm
An interactive map designed by the URI Food, Hunger & Nutrition Partnership that allows you to enter your location and search for the closest places to get food (Grocery Stores, Farmer's Markets, Mealsites, Shelters, Department of Human Services, Food Pantries).

Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless www.rihomeless.com
The Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless is organized to promote and preserve the dignity and quality of life for men, women, and children by pursuing comprehensive and cooperative solutions to the problems of housing and homelessness… The Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless believes that homelessness is unjust and unacceptable. We hereby recognize each individual and family's right to: stable, safe and affordable housing, quality medical and mental health care, food, clothing, education and sustaining income and/or employment.

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Other Websites to Check Out:

Dottie's Magic Pockets www.dottiesmagicpockets.com
Dottie's Magic Pockets is the first kids' show that features gay and lesbian families - and it is Super-riffic Fun for everyone!  Each zany episode is filled with catchy songs, cute cartoons - like purplish-pink Princess and her two dads - and Dottie's fabulous puppet friends. 


Oasis (Teen ‘Zine) www.oasisjournals.com
A writing community for queer and questioning youth.

Pink Triangle Services Youth Group, Ottawa www.pinktriangle.org
Website proudly serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, two-spirit and queer communities in Ottawa since 1984.

The Cool Page for Queer Teens www.bidstrup.com/cool.htm
Resources for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth.

Youth Guardian Services www.youth-guard.org
“Creating safe cyber spaces with the freedom to be…”