What we do for Young People   What we do, who we are here for, ... Open Doors is a service for young people between 12 -18 years of age. We always have heaps of different things happening at Open Doors, yet essentially we provide individual intervention through counselling and support for young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, or are experiencing difficulties at home or feeling isolated and confused. We have produced a resource just for young people called 'The only way out is in' It's a resource that was produced by Open Doors staff and young people at our service in 2004. The resource is for young people who are starting to explore their sexuality and or gender. Finally the 'the only way out is in' is now available via our web page click here to down load or print your copy. At Open Doors we do have social aspects of our service yet we are not a 'social group'. Open Doors is federally funded through the 'Reconnect' program. There are 200 Reconnect services throughout Australia, yet the one main difference is that Open Doors is only available to young people who are exploring, questioning or identifying as LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and/or transgender). If your a young person with a question or need some information Click Here to send Leisa (our Youth and family Support Worker) a email. The kind of support we offer includes: Counselling and support Being a young person isn't always about parties, and frolicking... (although this would be nice). So, counselling and support are the words used to describe a time where you have the 'space and time' to chat about some of the personal and private 'stuff' that you might find difficult to chat about - yet 'want to'. There are too many examples to name them all, but you'll find some of the 'stuff' that young people chat about during counselling or support just down the page a tad... You can choose your friends - but you can't choose your family: For some young people, they just want their mums, dads, brothers, sisters etc. to understand... life at home has been ok over the years, yet as we become older and 'sort out' a bit more about 'who' we are we want our families to support us in our decisions and choices: hello! it's just not happening. That's where we can help out, to support you and your family to reach an understanding or compromise; after all there are some great things about living at home... There are also many reasons why young people can't, choose not to or it's not safe to live at home with their families. Sometimes it's because their families don't understand their sexuality or gender, other times it can be about physical, verbal or sexual violence. We can help you find somewhere to live, either until stuff can get sorted out, or on a more permanent basis. I feel numb ! my head hurts! I don't know what to do... During some young people's lives they have been physically, sexually, mentally, and/or verbally assaulted. Abuse impacts the way we view the world, ourselves and our relationships in lots of different ways, some of those ways we can see like, suicidal attempts, self harm like - hurting parts of your body on something, cutting, burning, drugs, rage and aggression. Some of the impacts of abuse we can't see yet there felt, this might be stuff like sadness, shame, guilt, loss, suicidal thoughts, depression and anger. There are many different ways of effect and ways of surviving abuse, it's good to chat with some one about this stuff, you can chat with us or we can help 'find the right person for you'. Sexuality and Gender: We know that being lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender doesn't change who you are as a person. It's an aspect of sexuality or gender identity, and there's a whole lot more to people than their sexuality yet, it is a highly important, intimate and personal part of 'who we are'. There can be a lot of times however that friends, families and society can have different opinions... and this may sound crazy but we ourselves could even find it hard to accept our own sexuality or gender. At Open Doors we can support you to explore 'your' understanding of sexuality or gender and help you if you are experiencing the challenging opinions of others. We have lots of books, videos, resources and information in general. You can chat with a support worker individually, meet other young people or be involved with lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender projects. How can I meet other young lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and/or transgender people: For some people meeting other lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender young people is really hard. They may not be connected to the internet or don't know where to start finding them. It's not like they are everywhere at school!! And even if you have meet some friends, it can be hard to have a 'space' to hang out, chat, and meet other young lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender people. We have set aside some time once a week for you to meet new people, catch up with old friends, get to know us a little, and at times get involved in some activities. In the past, from time to time, we have created the opportunity during 'Drop In' for young people to be involved in stuff like writing and recording a music CD and created T-Shirts and banners for the annual Pride festival. It's all about having a safe and friendly environment where everyone can be who they are without judgement or expectation. So 'Drop In' happens every Wednesday from 12 - 5pm, at Open Doors in Fortitude Valley. We get groups of young people together to do a range of things: Relationships, sexual health, or 'coming out' are examples of some of the groups that we can organize at Open Doors. These groups happen when there are a number of young people around that all want particular information, or want to work on the same project. There are other types of groups too. Recently, the young people at Open Doors got together to help us create the booklet "The Only Way Out Is In" ( a booklet for young people starting to explore their sexuality), and also to help us organise the dance party we held in 2003 - "Night Vision". Can I have a bite! We can help out with life sustaining stuff as well... like food. For some young people eating can become a luxury that they literally can't afford. Depending on $$ and donations we can help out directly with some food, and we can help you find access to food through other organisations in other ways too! How do I get there - not the address! If you are coming to Open Doors Youth Service Inc. for personal counselling or support appointment or for 'drop in' on Wednesday's, Open Doors can help out with the bus or train money.