In normal circumstances, Phoenix nonprofit one-n-ten provides a safe space for the young people of the LGBTQ+ community to build relationships, navigate difficult situations and be themselves. As the COVID-19 pandemic began to completely alter the makeup of everyday life for people across the world, this made the organization’s mission to provide a physical safe space less feasible.
On March 13, one-n-ten published a statement to their website regarding their programs in light of the coronavirus.
“Out of concern and caution over COVID-19, effective tomorrow, March 14, one-n-ten program sites will proactively and temporarily close. Our events and participation in community gatherings will also be cancelled or rescheduled,” the statement said.
Events Program Manager and Camp Director Dani Logan said the decision was made to protect everyone involved in the organization’s activities.
“We made the decision that it was in the best interest of the health and safety of our staff, volunteers, and the youth that we serve to close down in person programs,” Logan said.
The organization not only has a youth center in downtown Phoenix, but satellite locations throughout the state of Arizona from Flagstaff to Yuma.
“Our satellites and youth center, and all of our programs, are safe spaces for young folks and some of those spaces are the only times that young folks are able to be their most authentic selves,” Logan said.
With the help of technology, one-n-ten is facilitating a virtual meeting place for young LGBTQ+ people across Arizona.
One of the ways that one-n-ten continues to maintain a community among the youth they serve is by using a platform called Q Chat Space, an online chat service for LGBTQ+ youth facilitated by one-n-ten and other LGBTQ+ youth organizations.
Because one-n-ten had previous experience with using Q Chat Space, there was a quick turnaround when the organization chose to close its doors.
In-person programs were cancelled on a Friday, but by the following Monday the discussion platform was accessible to the young people who take part in one-in-ten’s in-person programs. The organization uses the platform to hold six text-based support groups throughout the week.
The organization also holds meetings via video conferencing platform Zoom each week. Each Zoom meeting has a different discussion topic for participants to contribute to.
Members of the organization’s youth advisory council, made up of youth leaders from organization sites, have contributed ideas for programs held via Zoom. One such idea that made it into the Zoom sessions is for participants to talk in-depth about things they are passionate and knowledgeable about in a format similar to a TED Talk.
The Zoom groups are separated by age group to help better accommodate the different needs of the organization’s participants in different periods of life. Youth ages 11-13 can also join the sessions with parent permission.
The Zoom sessions are something that one-n-ten looks to maintain once social distancing orders are no longer in effect.
“From an accessibility standpoint, I think that is a necessity. There are youth who for whatever reason cannot make it to either our downtown Phoenix youth center or our satellites,” one-n-ten Training Specialist Wallace Hudson, who works to educate organizations on LGBTQ+ inclusivity, said.
Contact the reporter at eskline1@asu.edu.
