One n ten, was formed by concerned gay and lesbian adults who saw that there was a need to support youth who were dealing with issues of coming out.
In the mid-nineties, youth services expanded into two programs: VOIT for teenagers 14-17 and Horizons for young adults ages 18-22. During this period, our program also received a grant from Maricopa Integrated Health Services to provide HIV/AIDS education to valley youth.
In 2002, the name of the organization was changed to one n ten to reflect a stronger commitment to valley youth.
In 2003, one n ten held the first gay prom for high school students in the valley. Over 120 youth attended. The event was covered by the Arizona Republic and several local TV stations plus received national coverage from CNN and NYAC.
In 2004, one n ten partnered with Concilio Latino de Salud, Valle de Sol, and Tumbleweed to provide counseling in drug and alcohol issues and to provide education on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.
In 2006, one n ten collaborated with Southwest Center for HIV/AIDS (formerly Body Positive) and Native American Community Health Center, Inc. to secure a 5-year CDC-funded grant to… This funding allowed us to hire 2 full-time staff, a Program Director and YYY.
In 2008, one n ten hired a part-time intern, Jen Workman, who has since joined the fulltime staff as our Program Coordinator. Micheal Weakley was promoted to Director of Programs and has helped transform the program into the success it is today.
The Fall of 2009 saw the biggest single change in the organization’s structure when a nationwide search led to the hiring of 1n10’s first-ever full-time Executive Director, Nick Ray. Nick joined one n ten after serving as Director of Development at Wingspan, Southern Arizona’s LGBT Community Center and as a Senior Policy Analyst with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Nick’s hiring is the clearest sign of the board’s commitment to moving 1n10 onward and upward.
Today: one n ten currently serves over 200 youth per week between our weekly discussion groups in Phoenix, Tempe, and Glendale, and at our one n ten youth center in Phoenix. One n ten is currently focused on enhancing and expanding our youth programs and services. We are working to increase public awareness of one n ten and to promote issues of importance to valley youth. We continue to reach out to the community for partners to help us in this effort. Please contact us if you would like to be involved with one n ten and our work toward safer environments for LGBTQ youth.