The Amplify GSA Youth Summit is taking place on Sunday, May 21, at Boston Arts Academy.
Mayor Michelle Wu and her office of LGBTQ+ Advancement, in collaboration with the Boston Celtics, presented Amplify GSA to promote, support, and protect Genders and Sexualities Alliances (GSA) in Boston public schools.
Genders and Sexualities Alliances, or GSAs, are student-run school groups that unite LGBTQ+ and allied youth to build community and organize around issues impacting them.
The Amplify GSA Youth Summit was held Sunday, May 21, at the Boston Arts Academy. Students performed and the floor was open to a lot of important discussions with the overall goal of supporting LGBTQ+ students, and creating safe, welcoming and accepting school communities in Boston.
Research shows this can have a positive and lasting effect on student health, wellness and academic performance. It can also help protect students from bullying and harassment.
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The city of Boston's Office of LGBTQ+ Advancement wanted to learn what the students need to feel more supported at school. Amplify GSA looks to engage with LGBTQ+ youth and their communities to build connections.
NBC10 Boston's very own Abbey Niezgoda and Colton Bradford were on the panel Sunday. Other experts spoke, as well.
“We need to realize that we need to start supporting our children in this arena and helping them understand, and we need to learn so that we can understand so that we will be able to educate them,” said Renee Callender, of the Founding Present in Promoting Conflict Resolution, Inc.
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“We know that isolation is the thing that tends to get in the way for so many young people, so GSA’s can be life saving for that,” said gender specialist Rebecca Minor.
