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Group works to establish permanent space for LGBTQ youth in Fredericton

A Fredericton group says it is raising money to establish one of the first permanent spaces in the city for LGBTQ youth and young adults to be themselves.

Imprint Youth Association, which is doing the fundraising, said it wants to create a welcoming environment for youth to come together and be who they are outside school.

Reid Lodge, board member, treasurer and one of the founders of Imprint Youth Association, said he hopes people feel welcome when they walk into the building.

"We're hoping that it's kind of a vibrant and engaged space and that youth feel like they can come in and express themselves," Lodge said.

A place for self-expression

"Our goal is really to create a space for everyone, so we don't want to create a space that feels exclusive or like you have to put on some sort of air to come in," he said. "We just want people to feel free to come in and express themselves.

The group has identified a location but did not want to share the address until it was final. Lodge said the goal is to open the space by early 2019, pending fundraising and signing a lease.

"There's not a lot of spaces outside of school for youth to spend time together, and especially for LGBT youth opportunities are very sparse," Lodge said.

Logan Lyons, 18, a member of the LGBTQ community in Fredericton, wished there had been such a space earlier.

"It would have been much easier and I would have made friends," Lyons said.

"I would have been able to meet other fabulous people who didn't make fun of me."

A safe space

Lodge said the centre will be youth-led, meaning youth will come with ideas about what activities and events they want to use the space for.

"If they want more casual drop-in hours, that can be what we offer, or if they want more programs that are specifically targeted, we can look into doing that as well.

"I just think it's a really great opportunity for youth who don't have safe space to go — to be able to come in. It's completely anonymous and they can just spend their time there how they want."

As the association is aware, this would be one of the first drop-in centres for LGBTQ youth in Fredericton, Lodge said.

There is a centre at the University of New Brunswick Fredericton campus called the 203 Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity, which opened earlier this year for members of the LGBTQ community to gather and socialize. It is run on a volunteer basis and open year-round to all members of the community.

Pride prom, drag workshops

Lodge said the group plans the same kind of activities it's been offering for the past three years, including helping organize Pride Prom. There will also be themed drop-in events every month.

"We're going to do bigger events like Pride Prom and we're also going to do some events targeted at young adults and adults as fundraisers, so we're planning things, like, maybe a drag Halloween party, a Valentine's Day event, so all kinds of different fundraisers to help fund the youth programing.

The group hopes to offer events such as zine-making nights and drag workshops for kids "because they often don't have the opportunity to participate in that," he said.

Imprint is trying to raise $20,000 to cover operating expenses and startup costs. Lodge said $12,000 of the $20,000 will be for operating expenses, including rent, bills and insurance. The other $8,000 will go toward furniture and programming costs.

"Right now, we've really been paying for everything out of our own pockets," Lodge said.

"We're looking to kind of get a little nest egg together that we can rely on to offer more programs."

The online fundraiser had received $2,510 in donations as of Monday.

"It's been really great to see the community come out and say, 'Yes, this is something that we definitely want to get behind,'" Lodge said.