When a group of young adult queer and transgender people of color in the Inland Empire set out to connect to LGBTQ+ youths for leadership development, the results can be powerful.
And empowering.
Inland Empire Prism Collective, a nonprofit organization that supports the development and well-being of such youths through a resources and networking, wants to keep that traction going and build on its beginnings nearly 10 years ago.
A recent Gates Educational Advancement Grant via the Inland Empire Community Foundation will help on that front.
“These resources will allow us to stay focused on many school issues, especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ student rights,” said Miguel Rivera, IE Prism Collective’s development director. “The grant will help with youth organizing and education. We’re really strained and overall, it’s a challenging situation throughout the Inland Empire.
“The grant will help our student organizers in the community or help with covering those salaries partially,” Rivera added.
Championing LGBTQ+ wellbeing across the Inland region is one of the collective’s main goals. Launched in 2018, the organization began with mostly volunteers. Today, it has a staff of part-time and full-time employees.
The nonprofit group addresses effective youth mentorship, healthcare needs and access, cultural programs and policy advocacy.
Its programs include Peer Connection and Queer Up Space Outside — a great model for recreational activities with a community-building focus — and Trans and Non-Binary Hangouts as well as other wellness initiatives. The Pride Pathways initiative connects LGBTQ+ job seekers with LGBTQ+-friendly employers.
Other alliances, such as those it maintains with TruEvolution, a nonprofit organization that advocates for health equity and racial justice for LGBTQ+ people, and Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance, filter into the mix.
The organization also does voter outreach and housing advocacy efforts.
Rivera, also one of the founders of Inland Empire Prism Collective, said the organization’s evolution was organic.
“My personal struggles growing up as a gay child informed my decisions,” he said. “I knew from a very young age that I was gay. I grew up in a very Catholic household and I never had much community. I got kicked out when I was in high school when I came out. There just weren’t many resources in the area.”
Part of the struggle growing up, he added, was wanting to change these kinds of circumstances.
“I wanted to make sure there were places, community and support right for queer students,” he said. “I wanted there to be a place where it could get better. We all saw a need for advocacy and creating safe spaces for queer folks in the IE.”
Rivera encourages people to get involved by reaching out via its Facebook page, other social media channels or its website. The collective’s events include the Lavender Gala, which honors community leaders.
“We’re growing as an organization and trying to create change in the IE,” Rivera said. “We want it to be more equitable for everyone, not just LGBTQ+ folks. They are our priority here at Prism, but we have a big vision of creating safe spaces, third spaces and permanent third spaces.
“We also want to make sure that LGBTQ+ folks are prepared for the workforce, and we’re trying to create a real queer economy in San Bernardino,” he said.
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