Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- SOY
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Supporting Our Youth (1997-), otherwise referred to as SOY, started as a project by the Coalition for Services for Lesbian and Gay Youth in 1997. The Coalition, formed in 1991, was created to provide accessible services for youth and advocate on their behalf. It operated out the Central Toronto Youth Services (CTYS). SOY came to be an initiative as a result of the 1995 Other Young Lives Conference as well as the 1996 Other Young Lives Conference II. Both conferences convened to discuss pertinent issues facing LGBTQ youth with the former being Toronto-based and the latter extending province-wide. It was evident at these dicussions that marginalized LGBTQ youth in the Greater Toronto Area needed a support system focused on outreach and mentorship. Following the 1996 conference, the Coalition and its volunteers submitted a funding proposal to the Ontario Ministry of Health’s AIDS Bureau for purposes of needs assessment and feasibility study. The Coalition held forums, interviews, and focus groups of adult and youth stakeholders. The scale of the project grew and SOY applied to the Trillium Foundation for further funding to facilitate an initiative rooted in outreach and mentorship. Between the years of 1997 and 2000, the Coalition functioned as the sponsoring organization of SOY in spite of SOY being run by its own advisory committee. The Coalition dissolved in May 2000, but SOY remained housed at CTYS until 2004 and was managed as part of CTYS. Additionally, SOY absorbed the Bill 7 Trust Award in October 2000, which was focused on giving access to post-secondary education through scholarships for LGBTQ youth.