Queer & Trans Youth Council
The QTYC is an advisory chamber to the adult-led Santa Cruz County Queer Youth Task Force, and a part of the Santa Cruz County Youth-Led Leadership Alliance, The Queer & Trans Youth Council of Santa Cruz County (QTYC) provides local LGBTQIA+ youth with leadership skills and an opportunity to serve the local LGBTQIA+ community. Council members work together to identify needs, plan, and implement projects to directly impact their community.
Meet The Queer and Trans Team!
Projects in Progress
2022 - All-Gender High School Bathrooms Student Survey
The mission of the 2022 Queer & Trans Youth Council was to support public high school students in Santa Cruz County in having reliable and safe access to all-gender bathrooms at school. To do this, they created and distributed a survey to collect information from Santa Cruz County high school students on the current state of school all-gender bathrooms. Their survey received over 800 responses from high school students across the county. They organized and processed the data to compile the issues that needed to be addressed in order to contact school administrators and offer direct assistance and funding.
2020 - LGBTQIA+ Students' Rights Training for School Staff
The 2020 Queer & Trans Youth Council created and presented a training for school staff in Santa Cruz County about LGBTQIA+ students' rights and how to support LGBTQIA+ them, and when shelter-in-place went into effect, they converted the training to a virtual platform to ensure educators still had access to the information.
2021 - Resources Website for Closeted LGBTQIA+ Youth
The 2021 Queer & Trans Youth Council created the Cryptids in the Closet website to provide closeted LGBTQIA+ youth with informational resources. They chose a URL that wouldn’t alert guardians to the LGBTQIA+ content of the website (CryptidsInTheCloset.com) and the cover page is about cryptids. As part of the design, there is a built in Safety Exit which can be used as a discrete way to leave the LGBTQIA+ site quickly and go back to the cryptid page. There is also an art gallery where they continue to accept art submissions, and there is a gallery of coming out stories that you can also contribute to. Their intent with building this website was to provide a safe place for closeted youth.
Roles offered for Students
Must be a Santa Cruz County Member
Must be committed to actively participate
How to Apply
Apply down below! or access student applications within our Student Applications tab.
Want to become a Queer and Trans member? Fill out the application form down below! We'd love to have your part of our Queer and Trans team!
Student applications are still open for the 2022-2023 school year.