Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI) believes all young people, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, deserve a safe and supportive environment in which to achieve their full potential.
Vision A world where all LGBTQIA+ young people are affirmed, supported, and able to thrive.
Mission HMI supports and empowers LGBTQIA+ youth by creating affirming spaces, providing vital services, and advocating for systems that allow young people to live healthy, authentic lives. Through direct support, community partnership, and education, we work to reduce harm, build resilience, and expand opportunity for queer and trans youth.
What We Do Hetrick-Martin Institute creates this environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) youth between the ages of 13 and 24 and their families. Through a comprehensive package of direct services and referrals, HMI seeks to foster healthy youth development. HMI’s staff promotes excellence in the delivery of youth services and uses its expertise to create innovative programs that other organizations may use as models.
Our History We’re proud to be the nation’s oldest organization helping queer and trans youth reach their full potential. In 1979, life partners and educators on gay and lesbian issues, Dr. Emery Hetrick, a psychiatrist, and Dr. Damien Martin, a professor at New York University, heard the heartbreaking story of a homeless 15-year-old boy who had been beaten and thrown out of his emergency shelter because he was gay.
They were so moved that they gathered a group of concerned adults and created what was then called the Institute for the Protection of Lesbian and Gay Youth (IPLGY) to assist this group of young people who desperately needed support. In 1988, the organization was renamed Hetrick-Martin Institute in honor of its founders and their lifelong commitment to service.
Our Progress HMI is the host agency for the groundbreaking Harvey Milk High School, devoted to serving at-risk youth and founded in 1985 in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education, which administers the school and is responsible for admissions. Learn more
Created in 2013, HMI’s Center for LGBTQIA+ Youth Advocacy and Capacity Building, advocates on behalf of queer and trans youth by influencing policy on local, national and international levels, while helping to build the capacity of decision-makers, individuals and institutions that serve this marginalized population. Learn more
Our Founders
Dr. Emery Hetrick and Dr. Damien Martin, partners, educators, and founders of the nation’s first LGBTQIA+ youth services agency.
Harvey Milk High School, 1985
April 15, 1985 — Supporters outside Harvey Milk High School, founded that year by HMI, then known as the Institute for the Protection of Lesbian and Gay Youth.
A Milestone for HMHS
First graduate of Harvey Milk High School, 1986
