Out Youth’s services promote the physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being of LGBTQIA+ youth ages 9 to 25 in Austin, TX, all of whom are fighting to thrive in the midst of fear, misunderstanding, and hostility.

Out Youth’s programming is enhanced by the library in our community center, which is the largest private LGBTQIA+ library in Texas. A $1000 grant from the Austin Awesome Foundation will fund an investment in new nonfiction books by and about LGBTQIA+ people for Austin’s queer youth.

Access to books with affirming representations of LGBTQIA+ experiences is vital for Austin’s LGBTQIA+ youth now more than ever, given the latest book bans in schools and the recent legislative session regarding the rights of Texas’s transgender children and their caregivers.

For many young people, feeling a connection to their community begins in the pages of books. Books by and about LGBTQIA+ advocates can inspire youth to act as advocates within their own communities, or at the very least, they can instill a sense of hope in our youth, who live in a time and place where anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation restricts their rights.