LGBT Youth Scotland – Glasgow

LGBT Youth Scotland was founded in 1989 as Stonewall Youth Scotland — Scotland's first dedicated LGBT youth organisation and one of the earliest such organisations in the UK. It has operated continuously for 36 years, renaming to its current identity in 2003 when the organisation formalised as a Scottish charity independent of Stonewall UK. The organisation serves approximately 8,000 young Scots (ages 13-25) annually across counselling, peer-group programmes, school-outreach programmes, coming-out support and refugee support. Its scope is national — LGBT Youth Scotland runs branches across all major Scottish cities plus rural outreach programmes — but its Glasgow headquarters coordinates the national work. LGBT Youth Scotland's political achievements include the 2000 repeal of Section 28 in Scotland (the UK-wide law prohibiting the "promotion of homosexuality" in schools was repealed in Scotland three years before the rest of the UK, in part on the strength of LGBT Youth Scotland's evidence submissions), the 2014 marriage-equality campaign, and the 2017 gender-recognition reform. The organisation's Glasgow office runs the annual LGBT Charter accreditation programme for Scottish schools. Since 2003 the organisation has occupied fitted-out ground-floor premises at 30 Bell Street in the Merchant City. Open Monday-Friday 09:00-17:00 for drop-in reception; specific counselling by appointment. Wheelchair accessible. Free. St Enoch subway is a five-minute walk. On the standard Merchant City queer heritage walk this is the natural community-institution stop.