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- NAGLY serves a population of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT), questioning and allied youth self-identified as ages 14 through 21
- Age guidelines have been set so that this age group can be adequately served. 14-21 is statistically – although not exclusively - a time when a large percentage of GLBT young people come out and many youth begin to explore sexual activity. The NAGLY Board acknowledges that open, unhindered conversation helps to support healthy and safe sexual behavior and sexual identity formation. We limit the age of youth participants to create an optimal environment for discussion and education tailored with respect to the common physical, social, cognitive and emotional development of this age group.
- The NAGLY Board of Directors recognizes that occasionally youth age 13 are in attendance and that these young people are often in need of significant support. In the absence of a group serving GLBT youth of this age, these participants will be welcome and allowed to be part of the meeting. If a 12 year old is present, the young person will be allowed to remain for the evening, but will be informed by a group leader that they are below the established age limit and will not be able to attend until they are, in fact, 13. Every effort will be made to find immediate and appropriate support for this youth.
- In the case where speakers, workshops, presentations, videos, etc. are planned for a certain evening that may not be tailored to as wide an age range as 12-21 – a group whose needs clearly vary greatly – an alternative will be presented to youth under the age of 14.
- This alternative will be planned by the adult advisors and available when needed. In other words, group advisors will not have the burden of creating an alternate session for each meeting. This alternative might be a small group discussion or one-on-one meeting on a related topic for participants under the age of 14. This can be lead by the adult advisor, intern or youth leader.
- Content for which this policy might apply includes detailed discussions of sexual behaviors, physiology, harm reduction strategies as well as other related topics at the discretion of the adult advisor present.
- In the case of content related to sexual activity, the Board supports the delivery of comprehensive, research-based sexuality education that involves open discussion of real situations that confront (or, might confront) our students. As NAGLY is entirely a volunteer organization formed to meet the unique needs of GLBTQ youth (who often have no other place to get these needs met), we are not legally bound to obtain parental notification or to limit our discussion of certain topics. This policy is in place to simply ensure that students get education and support that is specific, uncensored and age-appropriate.
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