The Attic Youth Center is gearing up to celebrate two decades of outreach and advocacy for LGBT youth in November. To prepare for the celebration, the agency has launched videos to share stories of youth who have been positively impacted by the center. The Attic will celebrate 20 years with an Anniversary Gala at 6 p.m. Nov. 16 at The Crystal Tea Room Wanamaker Building. Leading up to the celebration, every two weeks the organization will release a video as part of “Twenty.” According to Attic program specialist Randy Grishow-Schade, the effort started as a creative-action movement with a group of 10 youth from the center. The first video was released May 17 and tells the story of Maro and their gender identity within the gender binary. The May 31 video centers on Robert, an individual who was discriminated against by their own family because of their identity. The Attic sees about 1,000 youth each year, and Grishow-Schade said the videos were created to highlight the individual stories of struggles and triumphs from within the diverse Attic youth community. “Their greatest gift is their personalized and honest letters about how The Attic has changed their lives. We wanted to start celebrating our own individuality and what makes us different in the world and how that relates to Philly.” Grishow-Schade said the ultimate goal of the series is to raise awareness about The Attic. “It has been around for 20 years, and that to me is entirely unbelievable that it has been around for so long,” Grishow-Schade said. “The Attic had to be secret for the longest time because it was a safe place and a safe place for individuals to explore who they are, but now the culture is morphing and now it is the time to pull back that protective shroud.” The group will release 20 videos over the next few months. Each one will focus on various topics, including HIV-prevention and awareness, art, music and the celebration of identities. Composer Foster Longo is assisting with background music for the videos, but the youth are in charge of creating concepts, videotaping, editing and all other responsibilities. “They are so excited and that is one of my favorite things about working on the project, seeing their stories come to life through a visual medium,” they said. “I don’t do anything except listen and they have artistic control. It is my responsibility to help craft that. Seeing them come up with their ideas and to be creative and celebrate that is so rewarding and fulfilling.” Grishow-Schade said the series provides a look into the full impact The Attic has had over the past 20 years. “We are really sharing the experience of The Attic and how it has changed and shaped so many lives, and so this is just a tiny fraction of every single youth we get to be with, explore and serve every day. These videos will get more detailed and enriched and we as a team will start to understand dynamics. We have nowhere to go but up.” For more information or to view the videos, visit www.youtube.com/user/TheAtticYouthCenter .
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