Five large arches of balloons strung together in rainbow order. There's a rainbow flag flapping at the bottom. In the background are two tall buildings.

Image by Melissa from Pixabay.

Hey, yo! Read this stuff first!

For the organizations below, note that many of them fit in more than one category. So check out more than one list to make sure you find what you need.

You'll find important background information and a whole lot more resources in this section's main page. So go check it out!

Notation reminders (Flame emoji , A small image of a book, laying open with its spine flat and one page mid-turn, and *):

  • Sources preceded by a flame emoji (Flame emoji ) are about sex and sexuality.
  • Those preceded by a book (A small image of a book, laying open with its spine flat and one page mid-turn) will teach you your (our) queer and trans history.
  • Everything that's preceded by a red asterisk (*) is a source recommended by my survey-takers.

Organizations to check out

Advocacy/ activist organizations

  1. Flame emoji The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project (TAAAP)
  2. Advocates for Youth
  3. Flame emoji Asexual Outreach
  4. Flame emoji AUREA (Aromantic-Spectrum Union For Recognition, Education, and Advocacy)
  5. Autistics for Autistics Ontario (A4A) (Not a US-based org, to state the obvious. But it has lots of great resources.)
  6. Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN)
  7. Black & Pink National
  8. The Brown Boi Project
  9. The Christopher Street Project (The website doesn't mention it, but their executive director is 19-year-old Tyler Hack.)
  10. GSA Network
  11. Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE)
  12. GLSEN
  13. IGLYO (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) Youth & Student Organisation)
  14. interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth
  15. InterAction for Health and Human Rights (The organization is based in Australia but has lots of great resources.)
  16. National Network for Youth
  17. Safe Schools for All
  18. The Soule Foundation
  19. South Asian Young queer Activist Network
  20. Trans Student Educational Resources
  21. True Colors United
  22. Voters of Tomorrow (not queer-/trans-focused but includes our issues)
  23. Youth Action Society

Education organizations

  1. Bisexual Resource Center
  2. Campus Pride
  3. Gender Justice Leadership Programs
  4. The GenderCool Project
  5. A small image of a book, laying open with its spine flat and one page mid-turn GLBT Historical Society
  6. Flame emoji Native Youth Sexual Health Network
  7. Political Research Associates (not focused exclusively on LGBTQA+/SGL lives but lots of relevant information)
  8. A small image of a book, laying open with its spine flat and one page mid-turn Queer History South
  9. Trans Bodies, Trans Selves
  10. Trans Youth Equality Foundation (TYEF)
  11. TransLash

Legal organizations

  1. GLAD Law: GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders
  2. Lambda Legal
  3. National Center for Lesbian Rights (which, despite its name, works for legal rights for all queer and trans communities)
  4. Transgender Law Center

Support organizations

There are fewer resources here because so many support groups are local. Google will be your friend in finding resources close-by.

  1. 988 Suicide & Crisis Hotline
    1. They can provide support over the phone and will connect you with local resources.
  2. 988's website has two directly relevant subsections:
    1. 988 for LGBTQI+ people
    2. 988 for Youth
    3. Other relevant subsections are for folx who are neurodivergent, Deaf, Native, Black, and suicide attempt survivors. There's also help available in Spanish.
  3. Empty Closets
  4. * Give Us The Floor
  5. GLSEN
  6. Gulp — a zine telling the stories of LGBTQIA+ people with eating disorders (PDF)
  7. It Gets Better Project
  8. Kalda -- a new, app-based therapy resource for queer and trans people. It costs about $50/year. So it's not free, but it's not much if you're spending money on coffee every day or eating out even occasionally.
  9. LGBT National Help Center, including a specific youth talk line, coming out support hotline, and weekly youth chatrooms. All are prominently linked on the organization's homepage.
  10. love is respect (a queer- and trans-inclusive place for young people experiencing dating violence, as well as their friends, parents, and teachers)
  11. National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA)
  12. The Network/La Red (a survivor-led organization to end partner abuse)
  13. Okra Project
  14. The Point Foundation
  15. Publicly Private
  16. Q Chat Space
  17. The Queer Trans Project
  18. Stand with Trans
  19. Trans Families Youth Programs
  20. Trans Lifeline
  21. TransFamilies
  22. Trevor Project

Other organizations

For additional organizations beyond what's listed here, use the following sources:

  1. See R2T2's adult section for multiple youth-focused organizations.
  2. LGBT Organizations in United States
  3. List of LGBT rights organizations for international organizations
  4. List of LGBT rights organizations in the United States, including some state-focused ones
Do you have ideas that aren't included here? Please drop me a line!
A white teen who appears to be a trans girl is marching and carries a sign that reads, "We SAY GAY!" Behind her are other people, one of whom has a sign that says, "Protect Queer Youth."

Photo by Aiden Craver on Unsplash.