Youth Programs

A group of friends of varying genders pl

I find myself more comfortable with who I am when I have the chance to come to a space with other people like me.

Photo via The Gender Spectrum Collection

Youth services at the Pacific Center focus on the empowerment, mental health and safety of LGBTQ+ youth (ages 12-17) through two programs: The LOUD After-school Youth Program and the Youth Speaker’s Bureau.

LOUD stands for Loving Ourselves and Uniting Diversity and is an after-school program that meets weekly from 4pm-6pm on Tuesday and Friday. LOUD provides a safe space and peer support for LGBTQ+ youth and their allies. Each week 5-20 youth gather, share stories, meet new friends, support each other, laugh, eat, play games, or embark on field trips. The group is co-facilitated by a queer adult mentor and a metal health therapist; the therapist is also available for one-on-one counseling for any youth and/or members of their families through Pacific Center's clinic.

Volunteer mentors and special guests from the LGBTQ+ community lead discussions ranging from dating and safe relationships, health and wellness, activism, dealing with issues at home, and achieving and responding to bullying at school.

LOUD also trains and empowers LGBTQ+ youth and their allies to become leaders and peer educators in our Youth Speaker’s Bureau. Youth have the opportunity to lead anti-bullying workshops in Berkeley and other Bay Area Schools, to provide outreach to and to invite other LGBTQ+ youth to the Center, and to share their coming out stories with their peers. Students and local educators have said the personal stories and personal interaction with Pacific Center youth make the lives and experiences of LGBTQ+ youth more practical and more real than reading about them in a book.

Newcomers to the Pacific Center’s Youth Program as well as friends who support queer youth are more than welcomed and encouraged to participate in LOUD. Youth interested in the Speakers Bureau can sign up for the program training by contacting Pacific Center.

Pacific Center is committed to creating diverse and inclusive spaces, and is actively developing programming specifically for queer and trans youth of color.

For more information, please contact our Deputy Director, Jared Fields, at 510-548-82823 ext 221 or jfields@pacificcenter.org.

Accessibility Notice: The youth group room is wheelchair accessible. If you have additional accessibility needs, please contact us prior to your visit to the group at jfields@pacificcenter.org or call 510.548.8283 ext. 221.