The First Month Of Our Newest Programs In Mesa Are A Success!

By Bobby Beverly
Mesa

one n ten’s year of growth continues as the Mesa satellite group held its first sessions this month. Meeting every Thursday at 7pm at the Mesa YMCA (207 North Mesa Drive), the group is run by Lora Pirie and facilitated by volunteers both new and old to the one n ten family. We’ve hit the ground running in Mesa with youth who have attended the Tempe chapter and Phoenix drop in center, as well as a few who are just being introduced to us.

Our group is finding its groove with a healthy balance of fun in the form of ice-breakers and games, along with some deeper happenings including sociopolitical discussions, currents events, and some good ol’ venting. Lora keeps the structure flexible, mainly to compensate for the fashionably late youth running on “diva-time” (this is a LGBT group after all!), but each meeting has an over-arching theme to it. Intended to get the youth (and the volunteers for that matter) to see their world in a different light and realize the influence they can and do have.

A highlight of our short but eventful tenure was our discussion on diversity where we touched on issues ranging from racial and cultural diversity, as well as examining our own personal biases and the room for growth and acceptance that exists even within historically marginalized groups such as ours. Looking forward, we’ve got a lot coming up including a night entitled “I’m Awesome” where we will look at, you guessed it, what makes each of us particularly awesome. We are also gearing up for Pride, continuing community outreach, and we have a slew of other enjoyable, insightful, and necessary nightly topics scheduled. Long story short, we’ve got it goin’ on in Mesa, extending the reach of one n ten one week at a time. Onward and upward!