At Minus18, we’ve been working to proactively respond to the spread of COVID-19, and the impact it’s having on our community. While it’s early days, the impact is clear:
- Our young people are losing their casual employment at alarming rates
- Young people are experiencing further social isolation which are triggers for depression and anxiety.
- Young people are spending more time with families, who may not be supportive of their LGBTQIA+ identity.
We’re in the middle of some tough times, where Minus18 is needed now more than ever. For the safety and wellbeing of our young people, our team and those we work with, we’re making some changes to the way we operate for the foreseeable future.
Events
Given the effectiveness of social isolation in combating the spread of COVID-19, we’ve made the tough decision to postpone all Minus18 events until further notice. This means we won’t be going ahead with our planned Youth Week and IDAHOBIT youth events, or our 21st Birthday Fundraising Gala in May.
The idea of going months without physical spaces for LGBTQIA+ youth to connect breaks my heart, but for the safety of our community, it’s the right thing to do.
Workshops & Training
As workforces and education move to online spaces, our Education Team are working to implement digital solutions for LGBTQIA+ inclusion. We’ll have more news to share on this shortly.
Digital Support
With young people experiencing more isolation, or forced time at home with families who may not be supportive of their identities, we’re renewing our focus in online spaces and digital support. We’ll continue to support the 1,600+ LGBTQIA+ young people in our teens Facebook Group.
For parents, we’ll be releasing a series of videos and education for parents of LGBTQIA+ young people, with tips on providing support and celebrating their child’s identity, no matter what stage of the journey they’re on together.
And for IDAHOBIT, which is approaching on May 17, we’ll be releasing digital resources that focus on celebrating LGBTQIA+ inclusion in small groups and online spaces, to ensure schools and workplaces can engage during this period.
Financial Impact
Moving IDAHOBIT into a digital space, and cancelling our biggest fundraising event of the year sadly puts Minus18 and our work in a difficult financial position.
As our team continues to support LGBTQIA+ youth online through this period and beyond, please support our work to ensure we can keep it going.
Our online store will remain open and we’ll be have one person at a time posting orders each week. 100% of the proceeds from each purchase goes towards our work – and online shopping is a pretty great self-isolation activity too.
