Indiana Youth Group

Indiana Youth Group is one of the longest-established LGBTQ+ youth organisations in the United States — founded in Indianapolis in 1987, it has been providing safe space, peer support, and advocacy for LGBTQ+ young people in Indiana for nearly four decades. The organisation operates from its Shelby Street centre in Indianapolis and serves youth and young adults through a range of programmes: drop-in social groups, individual support, HIV and sexual health education, mental health referrals, housing assistance for LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness, and a programming calendar that provides consistent community for young queer people in a state whose political climate has often been hostile to their existence. Indiana Youth Group is a nationally recognised model for LGBTQ+ youth services — the organisation has been cited and referenced by youth organisations across the country as an example of what sustained, community-rooted LGBTQ+ youth work looks like over time. The work is particularly important in the Indiana context: the state legislature has passed legislation that makes public schools less safe for LGBTQ+ students, and the need for external organisations that provide the support and affirmation that official institutions are increasingly prohibited from offering has grown correspondingly. For LGBTQ+ visitors to Indianapolis who want to support the city's queer community through their time or money, Indiana Youth Group is among the organisations most directly serving those most in need.