Mission statement
GLYS WNY builds affirming cultures and supportive communities for youth of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions.
Purpose
GLYS provides a safe and positive environment for LGBTQ+ youth to learn more about themselves through peer interaction and educational experiences. The organization creates opportunities for emotional growth and community awareness.
Goals and Objectives
Through GLYS outreach, other agencies learn about and increase their sensitivity to the needs of gender and sexual minority youth. GLYS provides LGBTQ+ youth with positive role models and a safe space, while promoting positive self-esteem and the integration of these youth into the larger community. GLYS can also assist youth and their families by providing resources and referrals.
GLYS assists LGBTQ+ youth by providing:
• A safe space
• Interaction with LGBTQ+ peers and adult role models
• Support Peer Group
• Health & wellness activities
• Opportunities for leadership development
• Access to cultural events and youth development activities
• Information, resources & referrals
• Advocacy
History
GLYS was founded by Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier (MSNF) members Don Licht & Jim Haynes along with Bob Uplinger, Mark Boser and Robert Frank. MSFN was Buffalo’s first LGBTQ+ Rights Organization -- it was founded officially in 1970 and disbanded in 1984. Once disbanded, MSNF transformed into several other LGBTQ+ Rights Organizations:AIDS Community Services (now Evergreen), Gay and Lesbian Youth of Buffalo (now GLYS Western New York, Inc.), and a local chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). GLYS began in 1983 as “Gay & Lesbian Youth of Buffalo” (GLYB) where youth and volunteers met at the Gay & Lesbian Community Center (GLCC) that was located on Delavan Avenue. When the GLCC closed in 1986, the YWCA of WNY on Franklin Street offered to rent GLYB space for its Drop-In Center. In 1994, GLYB changed its name to Gay & Lesbian Youth Services (GLYS) of WNY.
Until 2000 GLYS was a part-time counseling-based organization. After Labor Day in 2000, we opened our doors as a full-time youth development agency. After the YWCA put its building up for sale in 2004, Trinity Church offered to rent space to GLYS. From 2005 to 2017 this is where our Drop-In Center was located, before we outgrew the church basement and relocated to 393 Delaware Avenue, which is still Trinity Church property.
When we moved to Trinity, GLYS offered only its Drop-In Center to LGBTQ+ youth. Our Timothy J. Moran Drop-In Center is still a service that is unique to GLYS! This is an opportunity for youth who identify within the LGBTQ+ spectrum and their allies to hang out and be kids in a safe and accepting environment. Soon, GLYS will make another move to WNY Pride Center at 278 Delaware Avenue - bringing the community back together once again, and making opportunities for more collaboration between LGBTQ+ groups in Buffalo.
For many years, GLYS has been hard at work to earn the “Western New York'' portion of our name. In 2006, GLYS actively began working with schools in the WNY area that had established Gay Straight/Gender Sexuality Alliances (GSAs). We have helped to establish a curriculum which assists schools in developing a safe and inclusive environment for all of their students and encourages creating and maintaining a GSA in your school. Currently, we work closely with 72 schools in the Western New York area that have established GSAs. Each year we host our GLYS GSA Conference which allows teachers and students from across all 8 counties to interact with one another in a safe, learning rich environment.
In 2009 GLYS established our Youth-In-Care program. We now assist youth in all 8 counties in a variety of ways. GLYS has established relationships with numerous social welfare organizations to provide training and intercession services on behalf of LGBTQ+ youth in care. Many times LGBTQ+ youth face specific or special problems; providing additional empathy and understanding to caregivers allows these challenges to be resolved with greater results to these young people. We are currently affiliated with several local facilities including: BryLin Hospitals, ECMC, Western New York Children's Psychiatric Center: West Seneca and Amherst, Gateway Longview, and Baker Victory Services.
In 2016 we announced that GLYS would be hosting dedicated support groups for youth who identify as transgender, non-binary, or questioning, as well as their parents and caregivers! Before that date, back in 2003, Patti Jones and Kay Patterson were holding a youth only trans discussion/support group during normal DIC hours once a month. Based on the amount of youth interest it was clear to us that we needed to create a group independent from the DIC in order to give these youth the specialized attention they deserved. Since then we have evolved into several variations of trans support groups: we have a Transgender, Non-binary & Questioning Youth Group (available for youth ages 13-21) which meets at the same time as the Parents/Caregivers of Teens Group; the Gender Expansive Kids Group (available for youth ages 5-12) which meets at the same time as the Parents/Caregivers of Kids Group, and a Social Night for youth only, ages 5-21, in appropriate age specific groups.
In 2020, GLYS recognized that after 26 years with the name "Gay & Lesbian Youth Services" this title did not adequately reflect our dedication to LGBTQ+ youth. Many of our youth participants believed the name was too exclusionary for the ever growing and accepting LGBTQ+ community. So, we have officially changed our name to GLYS Western New York, Inc: Growing LGBTQ+ Youth Support
Members
Members range in age from 5-21 and represent many racial, ethnic, religious and class backgrounds.
Staff
Our Staff is also diverse in background, education, and experience. Each staff member is dedicated to serving LGBTQ+ youth.