JQY Drop-in Center for LGBTQ Jewish Teens

JQY imagines a world in which Orthodox LGBTQ youth no longer doubt their worth and have a safe place to turn to for support. The JQY (Jewish Queer Youth) Drop-in Center is a refuge for LGBTQ Jewish teens, where they can develop a sense of collective self-esteem and find support from culturally competent social workers with specific training on LGBTQ Jewish identities. Established in 2016, the Drop-In Center is particularly attuned to the needs of LGBTQ youth ages 13-23 from Orthodox, Chasidic, and Sephardic homes, who represent some of the most vulnerable populations in the Jewish community and beyond. They are more likely to struggle with depression, anxiety, abuse, homelessness, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and isolation. More than 70% of JQY’s Drop-In participants have reported suicidality and self-harm. 

JQY provides this at-risk population with a weekly resource to feel safe, welcomed, and celebrated, and specific programs such as the Yeshiva High School support groups, Women’s and Trans, and multiple teen locations in different Orthodox Jewish communities.

As of March 2020, in response to COVID-19, JQY has shifted all of its programming to virtual platforms, which has expanded access to participants outside of New York, and those who were unable to travel to in-person programing. However, participants are now required to have access to smart technology and the privacy at home to use this technology, which is especially challenging for ultra-Orthodox participants. JQY has creatively responded to these challenges by spearheading a “Used Phone Drive” in order to legally give smart technology to its members who cannot access its virtual support resources. In consultation with facilitation experts at UJA, JQY has also developed a “small group” strategy to respond to Zoom fatigue. In July 2020, JQY introduced “Closeup Conversations” – an eight-week series of clinically supervised virtual support groups on relevant tops such as “Talking to your Orthodox parents about gender,” “Coming out in the time of Corona,” and “the Jewish asexual experience,” which have been enormously successful and will hopefully continue in 2021. A member of JQY, recently shared, “Without JQY, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. They instilled in me a sense of pride and showed me that I wasn’t just going to be okay, but I was going to thrive and be loved.”