For some youth there is home, Frank Pena spoke about his coming out experience. During his interview he stated that “When I came out as trans my parents, they didn’t believe me. I had long hair and when I cut it all off, my mom kicked me out. She was like ‘I told you not to cut your hair. I told you I didn’t want this in the household, she kicked me out. And then like after a month or so or just kinda couch surfing, she like called me and was like ‘come home so we can talk’. So I went home and I gave her the benefit of the doubt and she talked and said I could move back in, and I did. And from that point on she said things would get better and she was gonna try and understand. I’m over five years in my transition and still things haven’t changed. So it’s always like that threat and it’s something that ya know I kinda just suck it up. I got to school and I work and living in silicon valley by yourself is nearly impossible.” While Frank is still able to live at home, he had to put a major part of his transition at home. Because he is living at home he cannot get the surgeries he may want, and has to hide the fact that he’s on hormones. He knows that
without a doubt his mom would kick him out again if he broke any of her rules. Some may say Frank is lucky, he has a roof over his head, but still has to hide significant parts of his identity. For some youth, they never get a chance to explain themselves or work things out with their families, and often they have no place to go. Youth Space is open to them, they offer clothing, protection and they help them find meal plans and health vans. Places like Youth Space do not exist everywhere, but they should. Even putting aside the mental and physical health benefits they offer, they give LGBTQ+ youth and their allies a safe place.
She spoke passionately about how a program at the Billy DeFrank Center, also located in San Jose, helped her connect with people, something she couldn’t do at her high school. She also stated that ‘as a high school student I didn’t know where to go when I wanted to date people.” While this may seem trivial in the overall scheme of things, it is a valid point. High schoolers are exposed day to day to relationships, both boyfriend/girlfriend and also friendships. It is only normal to want to have that connection with someone. Being of the LGBTQ+ community, this tends to be more difficult and different due to a combination of people ‘still in the closet’ and also not When asked about what caused her to knowing where to start. apply for the position at Youth Space, Places like Youth Space bring so much Adrienne Keel said “I was right out to the community, it’s impossible not of college and was looking for work. to see the benefit. Whether you’re just But mainly because i benefitted greatly looking for a hangout spot, in need of from a program like this when I was in advice/help, or a combination of each, high school. Youth Space is the place to go. It was an awesome place to meet other folks who were like me. If the opportunity came up for me to kinda bring that full circle and provide those same resources and opportunities for young folks, I jumped at the chance.”
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