Surrey Youth Outreach

Youth 4 A Change is an advocacy and activist group of young LGBTQ2SIA+ people who meet in Surrey. Now in it's ninth year Y4AC promotes education on anti-homo/trans phobia; healthy teen relationships; gender identities, inclusive language and practices,  and youth homelessness amongst other topics. 

Founded by GSWS Professor Jen Marchbank and her wife Sylvia Traphan (GSWS MA alumni) the group has partnered with the City of Surrey to run 3 All Body swims; with the Arts Council of New Westminster to host 4 art shows with spoken word performances; with QUIRK-e (queer imaging and riting kollective of elders) to produce 5 intergenerational performances across the lower mainland and also created 2 independent spoken word performances, and with the Empire of the Peace Arch Monarchist Association (EPAMA) to host several Drag Queen Bingo events. 

They also partnered with SFU Gerontology Research Centre and QUIRK-e to produce Canada's first educational materials on LGBT Elder Abuse - seehttps://www.sfu.ca/lgbteol/lgbt-elder-abuse-2.html    a team that included 2 GSWS Major students and 1 MA. They even published a book -

Basically Queer: An Intergenerational Introduction to LGBTQA2s+ Lives - see https://www.peterlang.com/view/title/64946 .

Normally the group meets in Newton every Monday but in COVID times they've just begun socially distanced meetings once a month. Contact Professor Marchbank for details jmarchba@sfu.ca.