COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio’s longest-standing organization supporting LGBTQ+ youth is readying to expand services outside of Columbus after raising more than $90,000 in celebration of its 30th anniversary.
Kaleidoscope Youth Center, which provides housing and programming for LGBTQ+ young people, is branching out to establish services in Findlay beginning in 2025, executive director Erin Upchurch told NBC4. The center has been in conversation for the past year with stakeholders and business leaders, as well as inquiring with local schools and colleges, to identify the needs of Findlay’s LGBTQ+ youth.
“We know in rural parts of the state, in general, services are lacking or limited, so we’re really looking forward to expanding,” said Upchurch. “When you invest in young people, you’re investing in the future of a whole community.”
KYC also kicked off its anniversary celebration last month featuring a campaign to fundraise $30,000 in 30 days, an effort that culminated with a gala at the Columbus Museum of Art on Oct. 10. Hosted by famed drag queens Nina West, Virginia West and Anisa Love, the gala assembled a diverse crowd of community members that pushed the center’s fundraising total past $93,000.
The gala honored organizer Mike Maly with the Founder Award, given to an individual who exhibits the same dedication to the community as the center’s founders. For 15 years, Maly has operated “Pride on High,” a ticketed viewing area for the Stonewall Columbus Pride Parade with proceeds benefiting KYC and other LGBTQ+ organizations.
“[The gala] was such a diverse room, from race and ethnicity to identity around being queer and trans and nonbinary, but then also age diversity. We had the continuum there,” said Upchurch. “It was just this really beautiful picture of what’s possible when you bring people together.”
Chris Sutton, a volunteer at the center for several years, was celebrated with the Andrew Levitt Spirit of Kindness Honor, an award named after Nina West whose off-stage name is Andrew Levitt. Black TransMen of Ohio, a group offering resources and mentorship to Black trans and non-binary masculine community members, was awarded KYC’s Community Freedom Fighter Award.
KYC is expanding after it also launched a new wellness center last year behind the organization’s drop-in center at 603 E. Town St., housing KYC’s behavioral health and community-based wellness teams. Inside, social workers provide counseling sessions, group activities, life-skills development and more for queer youth.
Upchurch said platforming the community and supporting fundraising efforts is critical while Ohio’s Statehouse is advancing several anti-LGBTQ+ bills. The executive director said amplifying the voices of local youth and the impact “of this harmful and really discriminatory” legislation is a “bittersweet” challenge.
“It’s really hard to sit in hearings and hear the negative and truly cruel things that proponents of these bills are saying. It’s very dehumanizing,” said Upchurch. “But, on the flip side, we have the privilege of providing the actual services to the community that’s being impacted.”
Ohio’s anti-LGBTQ+ legislation includes House Bill 68, a measure that went into effect in August to ban gender-affirming care for minors and prohibit trans female athletes’ participation in women’s sports. Laws like this one have caused up to a 72% increase in suicide attempts among trans and nonbinary youth, a new study shows.
House Bill 183 is also advancing to prohibit schools from allowing trans students to use a bathroom that doesn’t correspond with the gender assigned to them at birth. Another measure, House Bill 245, would ban “adult cabaret performances,” which opponents say would amount to a prohibition of drag queens in public.
A recent GLAAD report said the rise of anti-LGBTQ+ bills could be causing an uptick in hateful rhetoric, like when Nazi protestors disrupted a drag bunch at Land Grant Brewery in April benefiting KYC. The center received an outpouring of support after the event, raising around $50,000.
Since the passage of H.B. 68, Upchurch said KYC has experienced an increase in youth 12 and under, along with parents and guardians, looking for support. She is imploring other Ohioans to donate, volunteer, foster affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ youth, and to champion the community by speaking out.
“When we talk about an ‘all hands on deck moment,’ this is it. This is the time to speak up, this is the time to take a stand,” said Upchurch. “This is the time to really make sure that all of us are creating the Ohio that we know is possible.”
