Why and How We Advocate for LGBTQ+ Youth Through SMYAL

Since 2019, Subject Matter has supported SMYAL (Supporting and Mentoring Youth Advocates and Leaders), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that empowers LGBTQ+ youth ages 6-24 through mentorship, housing, scholarships and more. Stephen Cobb, who works on Subject Matter+Kivvit’s strategic communications team, has been involved with the organization for more than four years. He now serves as the Young Donor Committee Co-Chair, raising money and awareness for the organization. Stephen co-hosts two major fundraising events each year.

SMYAL began in 1984 as a small, community support organization for LGBTQ+ youth. It has grown to include five housing facilities for youth experiencing homelessness, mental health services, and youth-leadership training programs in addition to one of the only social support programs in the country for queer youth as young as 6-years-old. Its work goes beyond Washington, D.C., by providing youth the tools and education to advocate for themselves, push for their rights and engage with their communities as they grow into adulthood. Its work is critical — LGBTQ+ youth experienced higher rates of anxiety and depression last year than their cis/straight peers, and nearly a third reported experiencing homelessness or housing instability at some point in their lives, according to The Trevor Project.

Subject Matter has hosted several annual fundraisers for SMYAL, raising nearly $24,000 — funds that have helped purchase furniture for a second homeless housing facility and launch SMYAL’s Youth Clinical Services Department. We have also hosted several guest speakers to discuss important topics, from creating a supportive LGBTQ+ workplace to understanding the intersectionality of gender and race. Support this year’s fundraiser here.

We talked with Stephen about how he first got involved with SMYAL, why this work is important every day — not just in June — and what pride means to him.

Q: How did you get involved with SMYAL?

I had a very happy childhood, but I was always conflicted and felt like I was an actor in a never-ending dramatization of my life. I felt like I was always pretending to be someone who I wasn’t, and I struggled to love myself and experienced extreme guilt. After college, I moved to Washington, D.C., and found a community of friends. I was finally able to come out, be myself and live my most authentic life to the fullest.

During the pandemic, I saw through my work in public relations and advocacy how much youth — especially queer youth — were struggling across the country. I wanted to get involved and do more than post on social media. I joined SMYAL, and it has been such a great experience.

I’m so happy that youth in the D.C. area have such a great support system and organization to go to when they need support, guidance, someone to talk to, or a safe place where they can be themselves. In the place where I grew up in Alabama, there was nothing like SMYAL; there still isn’t. I wanted to support youth in a way that I never felt supported. Volunteering with SMYAL is a great way to do that.

Q: Why is this work so important?

SMYAL is one of only a few programs in the country aimed at youth on a local level. Many other LGBTQ+ organizations work on a larger scale, but SMYAL is focused on our local community and the youth in our backyard. It’s growing to have more national programs, but SMYAL still does so much important work in D.C. Its model is ideal because it can be used in other communities across the country on how to engage with youth, not only in programming, but also in providing housing, mental health support, scholarships for higher education, and more.

Especially now, during a difficult legislative time for queer and trans people in our country, it’s disturbing to see the negative impact on LGBTQ+ people and their allies. It has been gratifying to see SMYAL grow to be such a vital mental health resource for people in need during this time, especially in providing a safe space for people experiencing homelessness.

Q: What do you wish more people knew about this work?

Even though LGBTQ+ people have the right to marry, it seems like many of our other rights are being chipped away. After we won marriage equality, people thought the battle was done. In truth, we have so much more work to do, especially for queer people of color in our community, who especially face oppression and hardship.

There are also still so many people — youth, especially — in the U.S. who cannot live with pride outwardly. Pride is a time to celebrate and an important reminder of how far we’ve come. It also empowers and invigorates me to work and advocate even harder so that we can celebrate pride everywhere — not just in big progressive cities. It’s also important to remember to celebrate pride every day, and not just talk about it in June.

Q: What does pride mean to you?  

I struggled a lot throughout a large portion of my life to be seen by others — and to even see myself. I remember my first pride here in D.C. when I was open and how powerful it was for me to see how much love our community has. I remember seeing all these children with their parents — not just queer but many straight parents. Everyone was accepting, loving, and supporting each other. It’s one thing to talk about it, but it’s another thing to see it in action. My life is so much better now that I’m not hiding myself in every single way.

To me, pride is an important moment to remind people within the community that we’re all here for each other, and that there are also people outside of our community who are here for us, too. It’s empowering to have a moment when we can all be together and live our authentic lives with each other in our community with our chosen families.

It’s also an important reminder of how the movement for our rights began at Stonewall in New York City when no one wanted to see us. They wanted us to stay in the shadows. I think about the people who came before us — all their sacrifices and hard work to get us to where we can have big pride celebrations today. I also think about the people still fighting for their rights. I celebrate for those still waiting in the closet, and for the day when they can celebrate with us, too.