Frequently Asked Questions Your questions answered about The Queer Youth Alliance What are your aims? We aim to be the principal representative organisation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Curious and Questioning Young People in the United Kingdom. On top of representation, participation and raising the profile of queer young people we provide a range of services and projects around the country from our national publication 'OVERGROUND' to our online support services such as Agony Uncle, online peer support though our message boards and empowering LGBT Youth by setting up local branch groups in towns and cities around the country. We are also a campaigning organisation and lobby for change, equality and liberation for LGBT People in general as well as on related youth issues. The First and Only UK wide organisation run by and for LGBT Youth? We claim to be the first and only LGBT run organisation in the country for a number of reasons. Our organisation was set up entirely by LGBT young people without the assistance of older workers from other groups and organisations. We are not only run for 'teens' but for all youth, under 25 years of age, as well as LGBT and Curious, Questioning people- not just Gay and Lesbian. We are also nationwide Many other organisations have challenged our claim to being the first and only organisation run by and for LGBT Youth, many are websites and not real life organisations with a body of management, and others are voluntary groups set up to work only on a local level which are supported by external groups. How do I become a member? You can register on our website here although we require our members to be under 25, if you are over 25 you are very welcome to join us as a supporter. You can join as an affiliated organisation by contacting us by email here. Who runs the organisation? The organisation is run by a group of 12 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans young people (all are under 25 years of age) from all over the UK. They make up our 'Executive Committee' which is nominated by other members once a year. The committee meets six times a year in various locations to make decisions and take the organisation forward. Despite the Executive Committee being the principal leadership group within the organisation there are a great deal of other young people involved with the running of The Queer Youth Alliance. Our local groups are staffed by volunteers (all under 25 and completely unpaid) and our website is staffed 24 hours a day be a team of 'peer moderators' as well as 'peer counsellors' who respond to people's problems. How are you funded? We are not currently supported financially by any other means other than through donations from our members and through the time and effort put in by them to run our groups and services. It's very difficult to obtain funding to work on a nationwide scale, and where there is money available to work on a local scale other 'non-youth-led' groups and organisations have a monopoly on the money that we could possibly tap into. We are slowly beginning to apply for basic core costs and post of cash to aid us in running short term projects such as new resources and events but on the whole we're not a very rich organisation and welcome all donations warmly! Where will the organisation be in the future? After over 4 years we now feel that the organisation now needs a home, staff, new volunteers and capital to fund far-reaching projects into areas were none have so far ventured. Our local groups are continuing to spread the word about QYA and we are making new contacts within other organisations on a daily basis. Through increased visibility and partnerships we hope to grow and grow until one day there is no longer a need for an organisation such as ours.

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