Inside Out Youth Services

History

90's

1990

Inside Out Youth Services started in 1990 as a part of the El Paso County Department of Health as the Community Council for Adolescent Development. It became a separate nonprofit in the mid-1990s. ^[1]

IOYS youth marching in the 1994 Pikes Peak Pridefest parade.^[2]

2000's

2001

"A program sponsored by the Community Council for Adolescent Development (C-CAD)"
Mission: Foster a community that nurtures the development of a positive sexual identity in all adolescents and young adults ^[3]

Programs included (according to the website): Softball at Memorial Park, Group, Recreation, Pizza & Movies

Field Trips

2002

Address: 121 E. Pikes Peak Ave., #354 Colorado Springs, Colo. 80903 (The Independence Building, at the time next to Josh & John's Ice-cream and Kimball's Movie Theatre.)
Mission: Inside/Out Youth Services is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Our mission is to support at-risk lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered
and questioning youth.
Events: IOYS' big fundraising event seemed to be a golf tournament at Shining Mountain Country Club, which started in 2001.
Executive Director: Tasha Hill

Activism

Citizen's Day Group	IOYS youth at the CO state capitol
	Pridefest 2001

Youth Programs

Dustin	Group photo at the retreat
Pam and Garrett	Thanksgiving Dinner
Outward Bound Meeting	Housewarming Party Guests
Youth decorating for housewarming	One of the weekly youth meetings

2008

Executive Director: Deborah Surat, Ph.D.

2010

Executive Director: Shawna Kemppainen
"Meet our new Executive Director, Shawna Kemppainen. Inside/Out is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, and operated by an Executive Director and a Program/Volunteer Coordinator.

Dozens of volunteers make our mission possible, including facilitators who work directly with youth."^[4]

2012

Programs

Monday: 5:30-7:00 Support/Discussion
Tuesday: 5:30-7:00 Creative Expression
Wednesday: 5:30-7:00 Support/Discussion
Thursday: 5:30-7:00 Wonderdogs Pet Therapy (special course)
Friday: 3:30-5:30 Drop-In, 5:30-7:30 Rec Night

Programs Include:
Make It Better, which seeks to involve youth in advocacy and fundraising.
Youth Blog, on the webpage, which features contributions from IOYS youth writing on both local and national LGBTQIA2+ news anfd issues.

Advocacy

At this time, the Pikes Peak Safe at Schools Coalition has started meeting and working to address issues going on in local schools.

On March 6, 2012, 30 youth from Colorado Springs attended the first ever Colorado GSA Network Leadership Summit.

June 13, 2012

Colorado Springs School District 11 voted June 13, 2012 to include gender expression, identity, transgender status, and sexual orientation in anti-disctimination and harassment policies pertaining to students and staff, with input from the Pikes Peak Safe at Schools Coalition ^[5]

"Leading the way on this critical issue were school board members Jan Tanner and Nora Brown. Six out of seven members voted YES to include the gender expression/identity and transgender status language.

Members of the Pikes Peak Safe @ School Coalition, convened at Inside Out Youth Services, worked with the school district’s board and staff providing input on the policy. The coalition activated space where parents, students and other community members could speak up about the real harassment faced by LGBT students, including those who regardless of sexual orientation are bullied because their gender expression or gender identity is outside societal expectations." ^[5:1]

Facilities

Inside/Out Youth Services is located in downtown Colorado Springs in the Independent Newspaper building, bottom level. It included an administration office and a large youth recreation area, with games, music, and a discussion lounge.

We have an administrative office and a large youth recreation area with games, music, and discussion lounge.

2013

Relocation and Fire

Inside Out Youth Services moved to a new location at 1409 Potter Drive on August 12, 2013 but it burned down less than a month later on September 27th. The fire started in the early hours, a little after 3 A.M. The local fire department didn't stop fighting the fire until after noon.

Executive Director Chris Robertson said he believed the fire was likely not on purpose in an interview with Out Front Magazine. "One of the kids said the other day, ‘well, I guess we’re homeless now,’” Robertson said. “It broke my heart. I’ve cried so many times in the last three days. But the truth is we’re not homeless. We’re going to make it through this and we’re going to thrive." ^[6]

Previously, the organization had been staying in the basement of the Colorado Springs Independent building at 235 S Nevada Ave, before the Colorado Springs Independent needed the space.

"It might even be time to think about buying something instead of renting,” Chris said. “We’re obviously here to stay."

2015 Key Dates

• June, 2015: Eric Pizana resigns as Executive Director, and is replaced by Mary Malia. ^[7]
• IOYS moves to its new location at 412 S Tejon St. Colorado Springs, CO. 80903, at the corner of Tejon and Costilla.

[7:1]

Programs

PEAQ: Proud Empowered Advocates for Queers
Alphabet Soup by Emma Oosterhous: A webcomic hosted on the IOYS website that was created by IOYS-youth Emma Oosterhous that would later move to Tumblr. Readers were encouraged to send in their own stories to be created into comics.

Portions of the comic depicted moments from Inside Out Youth Services. ^[8]

Key Dates

• June 13, 2012: Colorado Springs School District 11 votes to include gender expression, identity, transgender status, and sexual orientation in anti-disctimination and harassment policies pertaining to students and staff, with input from the Pikes Peak Safe at Schools Coalition
• June, 2015 - Eric Pizana resigns as Executive Director, and is replaced by Mary Malia. ^[7:2]
• 2015 - IOYS moves to its new location at 412 S Tejon St. Colorado Springs, CO. 80903, at the corner of Tejon and Costilla.

References