Recently, Colorado Youth Matter swapped out our old, binary and exclusive restroom signs and replaced them with these beautiful new and inclusive signs.

For many folks, using the restroom is just another thing you do and often don’t think twice about. For transgender, gender queer and gender non-conforming folks sometimes going to the restroom is not that simple or worse… not safe.

As an organization that values inclusion and non-discrimination, it’s important for us to take the steps necessary to ensure our office space is welcoming, safe and supportive of all our staff, youth council members, board members, volunteers and community partners.

It’s official. Pumpkin Spice Lattes have arrived at Starbucks. And a few of us on the Colorado Youth Matter staff have no shame in admitting our love of this tasty beverage, one of the many reminders that fall is upon us.

This year, the arrival of the Pumpkin Spice Latte is also a reminder that the Raising the Bar conference is almost here!! We know you want to be there, but in case you’re still on the fence we thought we’d share a few reasons why you should absolutely attend this one-of-a-kind conference!

• We will have the most amazing keynote speakers EVER!! We’ve already told you how great author Cory Silverberg is, and we’re also ecstatic that former Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders will be a keynote speaker! She is a true trailblazer in the field of comprehensive sexuality education and sexual health. She’s amazing and we love her as much as we love our Pumpkin Spice Lattes!

A blog written by some of our amazing Colorado Youth CREATE Council Members, Adrian Nava and Scarlett Jimenez, has been posted on the National Partnership for Women and Families' website. We've shared it here - enjoy!

As educators, advocates, and allies of sexual health, we often ask ourselves why we are still having conversations about the implementation and support of comprehensive sexuality education for young people across the nation. For a lot of us, the issue of reproductive rights and justice is one that hits very close to home. As advocates, our stories and personal experiences hold immense power in our work. They allow us to break down barriers when interacting with others, and to create room for meaningful human connections and a space to share why we are so passionate about the work we do.

We share our stories with the hope that we will create awareness and support for comprehensive sex education. Having personal stories that reflect a lack of inclusion of all sexual orientations, or lack of information about healthy relationships and self–esteem, we – Scarlett and Adrian – understand and are optimal examples of why sexual health education is essential for all youth. During our years in advocacy, we have both been exposed to a world of possibilities, and have actively participated in various levels of advocacy.

• Are these statistics true? (1 in 8 young women will make a virginity pledge as a teen)
• Where is this happening?
• Do the young people involved in virginity pledges and purity balls have any opportunities to learn comprehensive sex education?
• How may virginity pledges and purity balls impact communities’ views of healthy and safe relationships?
• What young people may be systemically left out of virginity pledges?

Guest blog post by Colorado Youth Matter staff member Sandi Lyman:

Our family has always done things our own way. From eloping to Iowa to be legally married, to making a family that might look a little different from others: we’ve always let love guide us. When our daughter was born we received “What Makes a Baby” as a gift and unlike other books that didn’t seem to reflect our family at all, we delighted in having a book that was inclusive of our two-Mom-and-a-baby household.

• While nationally, the birth rate declined by 25% between this time period, Colorado's birth rate decline surpassed 30%.
• Additionally, Colorado's birth rate among Hispanic* teens declined more than 40% between 2007 and 2011. Only 8 states in the country have seen such a decline. Nationally, the Hispanic teen birth rate fell by 1/3 during this time period.

First off tell me about how you got involved in the sexual health field and what brought you to Colorado Youth Matter…

I’m pretty sure I began in my health educator role as a kid – I was always the “safety first, but have fun” kind of person with my friends and family and still am. I started working specifically in sexual health after I finished my undergraduate degree. I coordinated an elementary-age sex ed program for Coconino County Health Department in Flagstaff, Arizona. More recently, I’ve worked for Denver Health and Boulder County Public Health prior to coming to Colorado Youth Matter as the Family Engagement Manager.

Earlier in June, the Movement to Advance Project, the Center for American Progress and the Human Rights Campaign released: A Broken Bargain: Discrimination, Fewer Benefits and More Taxes for LGBT Workers. This report takes an in-depth look at data suggesting that without legal protections many LGBT workers receive fewer benefits and pay more taxes. This essentially puts LGBT families and individuals at risk for economic insecurity. The report finds 10 barriers that LGBT workers face and provides detailed recommendations that federal, state and local governments can take as well as employers to ensure workplace inclusivity and fairness.

Colorado Youth Matter believes that all families should be recognized and supported. We provide a variety of workshops and trainings that focus on LGBTQ inclusivity generally and in sexuality education. We also provide the Beyond the Box Workshop that addresses specifically transgender and gender queer inclusivity. We have travelled across the country providing these workshops and presentations as we are committed to ensuring all young people have accurate, non-judgmental, inclusive and relevant information about their sexual health.

Hi Megan, thanks for sitting down with me so that we can spotlight your work this month. First and foremost, how long have you been working at Colorado Youth Matter?

I started working here in July 2012.

What were you doing before coming to work at Colorado Youth Matter?

Most recently, I graduated from the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. While working towards my MSW, I had a lot of varying experiences. I worked at the Conflict Center teaching conflict management to monolingual Spanish-speaking adults and bilingual elementary students. I volunteered with immigrant rights groups, and helped support youth trying the pass the Colorado ASSET legislation. I also had an internship at a non-profit consulting firm, and focused most of my work there into organizing arts and cultural groups to form a coalition to advocate for more equitable grant funding structures for cultural non-profits and organizations.

I am also a Peace Corps alumna, serving for four years in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador. My work there focused on human rights for sex workers and people living with HIV/AIDS. I also implemented a comprehensive sex education program for youth.

What a success! The first Colorado Family Advocate Survey recently closed - over 420 adults participated from all over Colorado, ranging in age from 19-96. Results are being analyzed now, so stay tuned for the full survey report available this summer! But in the meantime – here are a few highlights: