Out Youth

Out Youth is Austin's primary LGBTQ+ youth organisation, serving Central Texas LGBTQ+ young people aged 12 to 24 with social programmes, mental health support, peer counselling, and safe community spaces. Founded in 1990, Out Youth has operated through the full arc of the LGBTQ+ rights movement in Texas — from the pre-Lawrence v. Texas era through the marriage equality period to the current climate of renewed legislative hostility toward LGBTQ+ young people at the state level. The organisation's work has taken on particular urgency in the Texas political context, where legislation targeting transgender youth, school curricula, and family decisions has created a hostile environment for many LGBTQ+ young people and their families. Out Youth provides after-school drop-in space, support groups, mental health referrals, leadership development programmes, and community events that give LGBTQ+ young people in Central Texas a safe and affirming environment. The E 49th Street location in Central Austin is accessible from the UT Austin campus and surrounding residential neighbourhoods. For visitors to Austin interested in the community support infrastructure behind the nightlife scene, Out Youth is one of the most important and actively needed organisations in the city.