For over 30 years, Odyssey Youth Movement has provided support for LGBTQ+ youth in the Inland Northwest.
Odyssey Youth Movement serves teens and young adults ages 13 to 24, offering a variety of community education opportunities, resources and access to their drop-in center in the Perry District.
The center is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 3 to 8 pm for teens and on Thursday from 5 to 9 pm for young adults. There, participants have access to meals and snacks, activities including arts and crafts, games, as well as various programs and events discussing topics like LGBTQ+ history, job readiness and more.
Additionally, Odyssey also partners frequently with other organizations to provide extra resources for LGBTQ+ youth.
"We work hard to bring in those external partners that can be kind of an even deeper or more involved resource," says Executive Director Ian Sullivan. "Recently, for example, we've had our friends from Planned Parenthood come in to talk about civic engagement and sexual health, and folks at the YWCA talking about Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month."
Youths can also access Odyssey's gender-affirming clothing closet at the center, which has items like chest compression binders, removing a cost barrier for individuals and providing them with the chance to learn how to bind safely.
Sullivan says overall, Odyssey Youth Movement aims to create a safe and affirming space for LGBTQ+ youth within the organization and beyond.
"Ideally every resource in this community, every youth serving organization across the Spokane or in the Northwest region, would be safe and affirming for all of our young folks," he says. "Our end goal is that we are able to refer out and connect folks with all of those resources and know that they will be seen for who they are and will feel safe walking in that doorway."
If someone can't access the drop-in center, Odyssey also offers virtual and online options for youth.
"We have some digital presence as well on some Discord servers, we've got resources that we can send out via phone and via email," says Sullivan. "If you, your family or a young person want to connect, we are happy to connect virtually as well."
Odyssey Youth Movement has a volunteer application and a donate page on their website odysseyyouth.org, as well as a list of items like snacks and art supplies that can be donated to the center.
Additionally, the organization will be at Spokane Pride on June 8 with a teen zone and variety of activities, and on June 29 they're holding Pride in Perry.
"We want to make sure that all parts of our city and our community can celebrate in lots of different ways," says Sullivan.
MORE TO CHECK OUT
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secondchanceranch.org
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PEER SPOKANE
425 W. First Ave.
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THE CODE GREEN CAMPAIGN
13221 E. 32nd Ave.
It's no secret that first responders have a very stressful job — that's why the Code Green Campaign formed in 2014 to provide mental health advocacy and education made specifically for first responders. The organization's name comes from combining the mental health awareness color green with code alerts, which are called by first responders if someone is having something like a stroke or life-threatening emergency. The organization aims to bring awareness to mental health issues experienced by many first responders, providing classes and consulting services to help reduce stigmas around mental health. To donate or find out more information about the Code Green Campaign, visit codegreencampaign.org.
