Youth Empowerment Performance Project
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YEPP seeks a safe environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) youth experiencing homelessness to explore their history, investigate new ways to address their struggles and to celebrate their strengths through the process of developing a theatrical performance piece.
YEPP uses harm reduction, social justice, transformative justice and education for liberation (theatre of the oppressed and popular education) frameworks to contain and guide the work. We work with the ensemble members for one year: 6 months in the story telling, individual-group healing, and theatrical performance piece development, and 6 months traveling around the country performing, creating awareness and educating communities about LGBTQ street-based youth issues. As part of our mission to create awareness and educate communities, we facilitate workshops in which we incorporate theatre of the oppressed and popular education techniques. Every year-cycle we work with 6 to 8 youth, 6 coordinators, and around 10 volunteers. The youth get a stipend for their work, food and transportation support; coordinators and volunteers provide their work and support on a pro-bono basis.
Besides the artistic work, the program also supports young people with housing, employment advocacy, medical and legal services referrals, among other basic resource advocacy.
Validators
Ian- I identify as a youth advocate and group facilitator with a passion for dancing, mediating conflict, rapping, and baking. I have served young people in creating social justice theater in several settings, including facilitating therapeutic theater-based groups for LGBT young people at a… More
Needs validated
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$785of $780
12 supporters
Funded on 11/14/2014
ZiZi
from Chicago, IL
Where I live, there’s a lot of transphobia and men targeting women at night. With my new job and help with a deposit, I can move to safety. More
Validated by Ian from Youth Empowerment Performance Project