2024 MID-YEAR
IMP REPORT ACT
SMYAL gave me a place to meet other queer people and engage with queer culture and community in ways I was never able to before.
This year, we are proud to celebrate SMYAL’s 40th anniversary!
Since our founding in 1984, SMYAL has provided LGBTQ+ youth with safe, affirming, and empowering spaces where they can be fully themselves. While the needs of LGBTQ+ youth have evolved over the last four decades, SMYAL’s dynamic work to best support young people has also evolved to meet the moment.
In conjunction with our 40th anniversary, SMYAL recently completed an intentional strategic planning process which sets a road map for the next chapter of our organization’s history by identifying key strategic initiatives and establishing our guiding principles.
We are proud to unveil our updated mission statement that reflects not only our work in practice but better reflects the heart of SMYAL.
This plan presents the foundation for our vision, helps us assess where we are, have thoughtful conversations about where we’re going, and develops a path forward that helps us manage, iterate, and scale our work to continue having an impact on the lives of LGBTQ+ youth for the next 40 years.
As we honor our history this year, we do so against the backdrop of significant threats to the safety of our rights, lives, and existences—many of which most cruelly target young people. We rise to meet these challenges, just as we have since our founding, because we know that care and affirmation are the antidotes to hatred and discrimination.
SMYAL’s 40-year history was built brick-by-brick because of supporters like you who have invested your passion, time, money, and dedication. In this report, you'll find examples of the work that your support makes possible and the deep impact that you have on the lives of queer and trans youth.
Thank you so much for your support this year and for the past 40 years, we look forward to the many years we have ahead of us.
Erin Whelan, LPC-S She/Her Executive Director
SMYAL’s Strategic Vision Our Mission
SMYAL supports and empowers LGBTQ+ youth. We actively work to create a world where queer and trans youth thrive through affirming programs and services designed to develop critical life skills, build community, and foster a sense of belonging.
Guiding Principles Strategic Initiatives
+
+
SMYAL In the News
SMYAL was proud to be in the first cohort of the EqualPride (publisher of The Advocate) Community Partnership Program, sharing SMYAL's expertise on a national scale.
There is something truly magical about witnessing the joy that fills a child when they realize, maybe for the first time, that other kids share their experiences. That they are not alone.
-Ty Kitchen, Little SMYALs Program Manager
Also featured on...
Supporting queer students is an investment in the present and the future...
Our lives are at stake; bare your teeth, break the silence, and demand better.
-Corvid, SMYAL Youth
Voices
from SMYAL are leading local and national conversations on how to support and empower LGBTQ+ youth.
“[If your child comes out], the first thing I would say is to respond with compassion and gratitude...and then also follow up with love.
A lot of youth just want to know: “Do you love me now? After I share this with you, do you still love me?”
-Matresa Flowers SMYAL Play Therapist
...Let's all commit to being partners to better support youths' mental health by creating welcoming environments at home, working with affirming therapists, and reducing barriers to access.
-Brittni Dash, LICSW Director of Clinical Services
Impact by the Numbers
Mental Health CounselingPeer and Community Support
new clients began affirming therapy at SMYAL
270
youth attended special events organized by SMYAL
clients found support and have completed their therapy journey 20 play therapy clients are currently enrolled and there is now a waiting list for new clients
Spanish speaking clients have accessed affirming therapy with our Bilingual Therapist
new Bilingual Street Outreach clients received language accessible resource navigation
residents in SMYAL’s Youth Housing Program receive wrap-around services
73
6-12 year olds were supported by our Little SMYALs program
youth ages 13-24 attended weekly drop-in programming 19
8
DMV-area elementary and middle schools worked with our SMYALing Schools program
The first youth to exit our Rapid Rehousing Program secured a job making $50,000 annually $50K
of youth exiting SMYAL’s housing program have made safe and stable transitions to independence
SMYAL hosted and planned 14 special events throughout the first half of 2024. These events are an opportunity for LGBTQ+ youth to build community, learn about queer history, and celebrate their pride.
Stories That Make
Housing Resident Successes
One inspiring resident graduated from Maya Angelou Public Charter School’s GED Program and has enrolled in the University of the District of Columbia beginning this fall.
Another resident has shown exceptional dedication and perseverance having secured a full-time role at Bartaco and a part-time job at Starbucks.
Thank you letters written to our SMYALing Schools team from middle school students
When we picked our child up at the end of the first session, the first day with the counselor, Matresa, I remember hearing this sort of like cackling, just this loud joyous laughter coming from the other side of the door and I can't tell you what it did to my heart and my husband’s to hear that and to know that our kid was in good hands.
- Little SMYALs Parent
Make Us SMYAL
SMYAL is where I realized that I could be my true, authentic self.
-Nolan, SMYAL Alumni
I got to SMYAL, a program where I feel safe, and above all, I feel super comfortable because I have case managers who speak Spanish and we can communicate much better.
-Diana, Street Outreach Client Testifying at a DC Budget Oversight Hearing
Jonathan Adkins & Ben Roberts ANNUAL CORPORATE PARTNERS
CORE PROGRAMMATIC PARTNERS
LGBTQ+
&Pizza
Align DC
Apple
Bates White
Beau Thai Mt. Pleasant & Shaw
Casual Pint of Dunn Loring
City State Brewing
Cornerstone Research Inc.
Cyclebar NOMA
DC Brau
DC Front Runners
DC Gay Flag Football
DC Mayor's Office of Latino Affairs
Dignity Washington
District Irish Dance
Dupont Social Club
Freddie Mac
Giant Food
FUNDING AND BENEFICIARY PARTNERS
Bryce Space and Technology, LLC
Hollingsworth, LLP
Hustle DC
Jane Jane
John and Mary Camp Foundation
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
Kalorama Photography
LGBT Tech
Martin Family Charitable Foundation Inc.
Maryland Department of Health
Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation
Moser Family Foundation
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
National Institute for Health Care Management
Out & Exploring - National Geographic Society
Potomac Curling Club
Price Modern
Red Bear Brewery
Right Proper Brewing Company
Rogue Cornhole
Rogue Darts
Salesforce
Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart
Stonewall Billiards DC
Stonewall Bocce DC
Stonewall Kickball DC
Tandem Diabetes Care
Tatte Bakery
The Arnold Family Foundation
The Evans Greenberg Charitable Foundation
The Sinton Family Charity Trust
Washington Blade
Washington Nationals Philanthropies
Washington Spirit
Wolf Trap
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
Year Up, Inc