2025 MID-YEAR IMP REPORT ACT
SMYAL wasn’t just a program to me; it was a lifeline. It was the first place where I felt like I didn’t have to explain myself or hide parts of who I was. It was here that I learned to love myself unapologetically.
As we reach the halfway point of 2025, I’ve been reflecting on the road we’ve traveled so far this year— what we’ve been up against, and more importantly, what we’ve done together with remarkable strength, resilience, and unwavering hope that continue to guide our work.
This year has brought no shortage of heartbreak. Across the country, LGBTQ+ youth continue to face relentless attacks on their rights, identities, and safety. These aren’t just policy fights or news headlines—they’re deeply personal. They’re about our young people’s lives, voices, and their futures.
But at SMYAL, we do not allow fear to dictate our response. Our work to support LGBTQ+ youth is guided by hope, joy, and community.
This connectedness is what allows us to keep pressing forward in the face of erasure and exclusion. At SMYAL, hope isn’t passive. It’s active. It’s bold. It’s the fierce belief that every young person deserves joy, dignity, and the chance to dream big—and it’s the action we take, together, to make that belief a reality.
We all have a part to play in this movement. That is the beauty of our community. Whether you donate, advocate, share our work, or simply hold space for this mission in your heart—you are part of this movement. You help make our foundation strong, and you help make our future possible.
We still have work ahead, no question. But for a moment, I hope you’ll join me in recognizing the impact we’ve made so far this year—the ways we’ve held the line, showed up for our youth, and continued to build power together.
With your continued partnership, your trust, and your belief in this work we will keep rising to meet the moment with courage, compassion, and conviction.
With deepest gratitude and relentless hope,
Erin Whelan, LPC-S
She/Her Executive Director
SMYAL In the News
“This moment is severe. This moment is familiar.
And this moment requires us to act...
The question before D.C.’s leaders is clear: Will you choose to look the other way or will you join us in taking action?”
Erin Whelan SMYAL Executive Director
“Walking into a therapy session can trigger a medley of questions for members of the community...There are so many therapists — but you never know walking into a session, ‘is this person going to see me fully? Are they safe? Can I trust them?’
Matresa Flowers SMYAL Play Therapist
Also featured in...
“Our kids are children...they want to go into school. They want to be happy with their friends and enjoy the art or the music or the sport that they love, and instead, what they're coming to us with and sharing is that they are stressed. They do not feel safe to be themselves...”
Rebecca York Director of Youth Development & Community Engagement
In honor of the World Pride celebration in DC this year, SMYAL hosted Youth Pride in partnership with Woolly Mammoth Theater Company!
This event, created specially for LGBTQ+ youth ages 6-18 and their families, featured music, workshops, games, a silent disco, drag performances, and more!
147 Attendees
78 youth attendees, 23 of whom were new to SMYAL 69 parent & caregiver attendees
CELEBRATING PRIDE
PRIDE WITH THE WORLD
“During the DMV Kiki vogue class, there was one youth who sat and watched the programming and was really nervous, then felt empowered enough to walk the runway first with Bombshell Monroe and then on their own! It was so nice to watch them come out their shell.”
Kris SMYAL Training Coordinator
“Youth Pride was a really fun way to bring our community together and celebrate the joy of our LGBTQ+ identities! We were so happy to see lots of familiar faces and welcome in people new to SMYAL programming. This was a day to remind us that we are all connected within a larger community full of joy and love.”
Ty Kitchen Little SMYALs Manager
“This was a fabulous event! Well run and organized, fun for everyone and some great groups at the tables! Thanks for holding it.
We really enjoyed it.”
-Parent of SMYAL Youth
Bombshell Monroe
Impact by the Numbers
Community Support
new clients found support through
clients reached meaningful milestones and completed their therapy at SMYAL
play therapy clients are currently enrolled and receiving affirming
youth engaged in weekly inschool therapy groups in Prince George’s County
39 youth attended SMYAL’s Spring Break programs 6-12 year olds were supported by Little SMYALs
youth ages 13-24 attended weekly drop-in programs
DMV-area elementary and middle schools partnered with SMYALing Schools
25 community Pride events featured SMYAL's presence, support, and celebration
of current housing residents are employed, and 4 residents have recently secured new jobs
of program graduates left SMYAL housing with secure, stable next steps in place.
One Family’s Story
“We've been bracing for a difficult time, given the political climate. We knew it would be hard, but what's gotten us through has been the community and support we've experienced with SMYAL. None of us has felt alone, and each of us have a network within SMYAL, of friends, of mental health support, of the joy that we need to weather these challenges. It's meant the world to us, and our whole family is grateful.”
Will Evans and Audrey Roofeh Parents of SMYAL Youth
“It has been helpful in protecting me and who I am. It has helped me be the person I want to be, regardless of what's happening right now. When I'm at SMYAL, I feel happy and unbound by expectations that I’m meant to be someone else. I feel like I can face the world because I have an organization and a lot of friends I've made. I have community, and that's the strongest thing in the world.”
Rory Little SMYALs Youth
“SMYAL makes me happy. It's fun and I play with my friends and everyone is really nice and no one misgenders me. I feel like I can be more me when I'm there. I feel a sense of excitement when I go there.”
Nina Little SMYALs Youth
Photos courtesy of Devon Rowland, ACLU
An update on our inspiring resident who graduated from Maya Angelou Public Charter School’s GED Program last year: She has now completed her first year at the University of the District of Columbia!
In addition to her academic success, this resident has qualified for Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH), taking a major step toward a stable, independent, and empowered future. Her journey is a powerful reminder of what’s possible with the right support and unwavering determination.
At a time when so many people are considering escape options, SMYAL has made me more certain than ever that DC is our place. I don't always know if I can protect my child on my own, but I don't have to, because the community at SMYAL is standing with us.
Annie Schutte
Little SMYALs Parent
SMYAL as an organization has helped me feel supported in my transmasculine identity through providing community, safety, and shelter throughout this changing and hostile political environment. I feel that, no matter how long I am away from the organization, I am welcomed with open arms--celebrated for my existence and consequent resilience. Thank you SMYAL for providing a space of strength and connection.
Teen & Young Adult Programs Participant
Housing Resident Successes Stories That Make What SMYAL Means to Our Community
Make Us SMYAL
Backyard BBQ
On June 8 , trans youth activist Lily E. Rood spoke on behalf of SMYAL at the World Pride March on Washington from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. th
Lily has worked with SMYAL’s youth programs and is the Founder and Executive President of the National Transgender Leadership Council.
In May, SMYAL hosted a cookout at our youth center, led by a collaboration between Youth Programming, Housing, and Street Outreach teams, to build community with Spanish-speaking youth.
The event featured a cookout, participant-driven drag performances, and an arm wrestling competition.
30 Attendees
“I know we have something much stronger than fear as trans young people.
We have hope.
We will never back down.”
Lily E. Rood
“The Pride Parade Party was a roaring success! It was a day full of sparkle and self-expression as youth celebrated in style. With everything from our heartwarming age-up ceremony to watching the fabulous Pride Parade stream together. It was the perfect Pride Parade alternative: joyful, meaningful, and full of cool shade and even cooler vibes.”
Jhirbron Tonge
Teen and Young Adult Programs Manager
Lily at the Lincoln Memorial
$200,000+ LEVEL
Maryland Consortium on Coordinated Community Supports
$100,000+ LEVEL
$10,000+
Breakthru Beverage & Fifth Generation
Dupont Social Club
Greater Washington Community Foundation
Her Diner
Kyle Duarte
Mayor's Office of LGBTQ Affairs
Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation
Stonewall Bocce
The Arnold Foundation
Big Gay Smiles Dental
BM&T Charitable Foundation
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
Dupont Social Club
Kristina and William Catto Foundation
Network for Victim Recovery
Rogue Cornhole
TTR Sotheby's International Realty
AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Arlington Community Fund
Black Eyes
Blitz Beatz
Bryce Space and Technology, LLC
Bunker DC
Children's National Medical Center
Davies Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church
DC Gay Flag Football
Donkeys and Scooters Merch LLC
Flower Potluck DMV
National Capital Park and Planning Commission
Patricia and E. Garrett Cleary Memorial Fund
Pivotal Ventures
Rogue Darts
Scott Family Fund
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Smithbucklin
Stonewall Bocce
The Evans Greenberg Charitable Foundation