Change-makers: Thanet Teens BeYou

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When Georgia and her team got together to think of their social action project as part of NCS last summer, they wanted to do something that would help the young people, like themselves, in their community.

“We chose to focus our project on discrimination against LGBTQ+ youth, as we noticed that it was an issue that affects so many vulnerable teens, and can often lead to homelessness” says Georgia.

They got in touch with The BeYou Project - a safe, welcoming and non-judgemental space where young LGBTQ+ people can meet to socialise, have fun and help each other - and started thinking about how they could create awareness for this space. Ways to promote it to teens who may need help, support and education, or for others who may have family or friends facing discrimination.

And they came up with a few different ideas!

“We began by creating a mural” Georgia explains, “which included the name of the project and ways to contact them to get help teens might need. We want it to help people feel welcomed into the LGBTQ+ community and for them to express themselves, be proud of who they are and speak freely with confidence.”

It was also important to the group that the mural was inclusive for everyone. As Georgia explains, “we would like our project to make a big impact within the community, showing that people from every background should and shall be accepted. This is why we have incorporated the Black Lives Matter logo in the mural, as a reflection of the discrimination of other minority groups.”

Making sure everyone who feels discriminated against is looked after and safe was incredibly important to the project. That’s why Team BeYou also created a video, explaining how to react to a friend or family member coming out to you, and what you should not say or do.

 

 

 

 

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And, the team also created posters. “We made posters which we put up in shops in town, which included facts about LGBTQ+ discrimination and homelessness” Georgia explains, “we hope they make people more inclined to reach out to LGBTQ+ people they know and check in on them and their mental health.”

Georgia and Team BeYou enjoyed coming together and doing their project to help young people in their community, as she says, “it allowed us to create awareness for an issue we believe is very important, whilst also getting to show our creative side!”

WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHERE YOU ARE?

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