The Center for LGBTQ Youth Advocacy and Capacity Building, or HMI Center, advocates on behalf of LGBTQ 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.
HMI Center offers training opportunities for youth service professionals to enhance their individual and organizational capacity to serve LGBTQ-identified youth.
Through our HMI Youth Advocates program, we create forums for young people to be heard – giving voice to their personal stories and providing opportunities to become active participants in the systems that directly impact them.
HMI Center extends our decades of leadership in this field so that our experiences may serve as models and be replicated for those in need. These areas include:
- Conduct organizational assessments on programmatic capacity to serve LGBTQ young people (PRYSM Scan) and provide recommendations;
- Offer technical assistance and customized trainings to help shift policies and practices that promote safety and inclusion for LGBTQ youth;
- Provide Training-of-the-Trainer trainings for social service providers and professionals to turnkey at their respective sites;
- Partner with school communities to create policies and cultivate strategies for school personnel and students’ families to circumvent bullying and violence, and;
- Collaborate with a local and state government, city agencies, and foundations to secure funding for programs that serve LGBTQ youth across NYC.