Inside Out Youth Services was contacted early last night regarding a targeted security threat against the LGBTQIA2+ community in Colorado Springs. Out of an abundance of caution, we chose to close our community center for the evening.

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who tuned in for the ✨YOUTH VARIETY SHOW✨ livestream yesterday and to everyone who donated for Colorado Gives Day! Thanks to your support we exceeded our goal and raised $13,895 to build access, equity, and power with LGBTQIA2+ young people in our community. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

🌈 Happy Colorado Gives Day! 🌈 IOYS is celebrating with a ✨YOUTH VARIETY SHOW ✨livestream today from 4:30 to 5:30 pm on Facebook and Instagram. We hope you'll tune in to support the amazingly caring and talented young people who access programs and services at IOYS!

💗💛💙 Happy Pansexual and Panromantic Pride Day from IOYS! 💗💛💙 "To be Pan is such an honor. To see the world through the pan mindset is to see a bright and kind place. If you are pan, you are valid, loved, and you will not be erased!" - Gray (they/them), IOYS Donor Relations Manager

IOYS is closed today, November 3rd, due to the weather. We wish everyone a safe and warm snow day ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

Today is Giving Tuesday, and we'll hope you'll give to Inside Out Youth Services to support our mission of building access, equity, and power with LGBTQIA2+ young people in our community!

This Trans Day of Remembrance, we honor our loved ones — those who have passed and those who remain. We commit to caring for ourselves, our community, and our collective future. Please be gentle and take sweet care of yourself. 💙💗🤍💗💙

Three years ago, we lost five beautiful souls to violence. Today, and every day, we honor and remember them: Daniel Aston, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh, Derrick Rump, and Raymond Green Vance. Rest in Pride ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

🌈 Thank you so much for Allying Up! with us this morning 🦄

Thank you so much to Ingrid (she/her) from Think Positive Club, which is a nonprofit that builds resilience and empowerment through the power of positivity, for coming to the IOYS community center to create vision boards youth around goal setting ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

Are you a parent or guardian of a trans or gender-expansive young person and are looking for a supportive community? TransParenting is our support, resource, & advocacy group for parents and guardians of transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive young people. Please message us for more info 💙💗🤍

The holiday season and new year are right around the corner — a time when many organizations, including Inside Out Youth Services, share more frequent appeals for support.

Happy Veterans Day from IOYS ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

Gemmy is on their way to Ally Up! 🦄 There's still time to get your FREE ticket to Ally Up! on November 18th! You can learn more here: givebutter.com/AllyUpTC25 ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

Queer affirmations ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

Thank you so much to Rainbow Crate for donating all these LGBTQIA2+ books to the IOYS library ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

Inside Out Youth Services and Prism Community Collective are teaming up for a coat and sock drive! Please consider dropping off gently used coats and new socks to IOYS (ages 13 to 24) and Prism Community Collective (ages 18+.)

Democracy works best when everyone participates. Please vote! 🌈

🖤🧡 Happy Halloween from Gemmy and IOYS! Please stay safe out there and have a fabulous time celebrating 🧡🖤

With the SNAP hold for Nov, we are asking for additional food donations to support our young people. We are accepting food donations on Thursdays at the community center from 11am to 5pm to supply our food pantry. We ask to donate from the food list here. Thank you for supporting young people!🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

Elections are on Tuesday and food access is on the ballot. Please VOTE YES on LL and MM to keep free lunches available in schools.

Elections are ONE WEEK out, so please don't forget to VOTE! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

TODAY is the last day to mail in your ballot! After today, please take your ballot to a secure drop-off location. And don't forget to VOTE! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

🌯🌯🌯Thank you so much to Chancie (she/her) for leading this burrito making class ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

Thank you so much to competitive pool player, Valeria (she/her), for coming to the IOYS community center to teach a pool class ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

🖤🩶🤍💜 Happy Asexual Awareness Week from IOYS 💜🤍🩶🖤

There's still time to get your individual ticket to Ally Up! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗 Ally Up! is a free breakfast on November 18th that offers the opportunity for community members to learn more about Inside Out Youth Services and how they can Ally Up! to support LGBTQIA2+ young people in our community.

IOYS Volunteer Manager, Alina (they/them), facilitated a program this week about "The History of Halloween" and the roots of language we so commonly use, without knowing it's origin and its original harmful meaning. We are grateful to learn AND unlearn here at Inside Out Youth Services! 🎃👻🕷

💙💗🤍💛🤍💜🖤 Happy International Pronouns Day from IOYS 💛🤍💜🖤💙💗🤍

"Griffin-Gracy’s work as an activist ranged from her work on behalf of people suffering with HIV and AIDS in the early 1980s, to launching San Francisco’s first mobile needle exchange, to her championing of the abolitionist movement, often prioritizing trans women."

Just a reminder: You're loved, you're worthy, you're one-of-a-kind. Happy National Coming Out Day from IOYS ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

💙🤍💗 Trans Day of Play last week was a HUGE SUCCESS 💙🤍💗

🧡🤍🩷 Happy International Lesbian Day from IOYS 🩷🤍🧡

The D49 Board of Education meeting will be held Thursday, Oct. 9th at 6:30 p.m. at the Creekside Success Center – D49. Please pack the room and wear purple to show support. If you would like to give public comment, sign up online starting at 3 p.m. the day before the meeting, Oct. 8th.

Inside Out Youth Services received a One Colorado Prism Award this past weekend! We are so incredibly honored to be recognized with this award next to endocrinologist Dr. Sean Iwamoto (he/him), Telluride AIDS Benefit, and AFSC’s Colorado Immigrant Rights Program Director, Jordan T. Garcia (he/him.)

Last week IOYS Queer Scouts visited the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center in Woodland Park for a guided tour! Participants learned about the timeline and lives of dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and mosasaurs ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

Happy LGBTQ+ History Month from IOYS ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗 Here are some media recommendations that highlight LGBTQIA2+ history and culture, intersectional identities, as well as both some struggles and victories of LGBTQIA2+ people. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

IOYS is so excited to work with Zami (Zami/he/him) & Spiritus Wellness on a review & evaluation of our advocacy programs! We'll be learning more about the impact our advocacy has, what we are doing well, and ways to make this work more accessible, impactful, and sustainable ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

Thank you so much to everyone who came out last week to support our parking lot cleanup! We picked up trash, tackled some weeds, and had some fun, too ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗 Our parking lot now looks as fabulous as Halloween Gemmy with a bouquet of sunflowers 🎃🦄🌻

Thank you to everyone who came to the D49 meeting to show opposition to the district's trans bathroom ban. The policy passed 3-2, despite overwhelming public outcry. Because of your advocacy, trans students, staff, & families saw how many people will stand with them against discriminatory policy. 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 Students in D49 need your support 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

💗💜💙 Happy Bi Visibility Day 💙💜💗 "Bi Visibility is important because it reminds everyone to not assume the way someone loves based on who they are with. Remember, you do not have to prove who you are, who you love, or squeeze into any box that doesn’t fit you!" - IOYS School Advocate, Jaxon (he/him)

LGBTQIA2+ individuals contribute so much to our society and should be accepted in all spaces 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to Whistle Pig Brewing Company this past weekend for our Inside Out movie night fundraiser! It was such a fun and impactful time sharing the magic of the movies together. We greatly appreciate Whistle Pig Brewing Company for all your support. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month from IOYS ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

Members of the D49 Board of Education have proposed Policy JBAA - Access to Sex-Segregated Spaces, which bans trans and gender-expansive students, educators, staff, & members of the public from using district facilities that correspond with their gender identity. Your voice is needed in opposition.

IOYS had an amazing staff retreat last week where we had time to collaborate on projects, make plans for 2026, and do some team-building. Great work, y'all ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

Local Drag King, Mario, came into the IOYS community center last week for Drag Lab Bingo! We are so grateful to have local performers share space with IOYS participants to offer advice and inspiration for young aspiring artists ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

IOYS had such a wonderful time at the Health and Fitness Expo this past weekend tabling with Food to Power ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗

Inside Out has a wide variety of school support we can provide at any time during the year. If there is any support you need during the year, please send us a message ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤎💙🤍💗