JQY

Last updated
JQY
Jewish Queer Youth
AbbreviationJQY, JQY INC., Jewish Queer Youth
Formation2001
FounderMordechai Levovitz
Type 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization [1]
27-5305498 [2]
Legal status501c3 Nonprofit
PurposeMental Health Organization
Location
  • New York City
ServicesDrop-in center, crisis line, group therapy, individual therapy, community events, trainings for mental health professionals, rabbis, and community leaders
Executive director
 Rachael Fried
Budget (2021)
US$513,000
Website jqy.org

JQY (or Jewish Queer Youth) is a New York-based nonprofit organization that supports and empowers LGBTQ youth with a focus on those from Orthodox, Chassidic, and Sephardic/Mizrahi homes. The group was founded in 2001 as an online listserve, and began meeting in the Manhattan JCC in 2003. [3] Rachael Fried became executive director in June 2019. [4]

The organization firmly believes in meeting each individual person where they are. JQY creates spaces for individuals who share the common identities of being LGBTQ and Jewish. Their members have many different views on LGBTQ issues and religion, and all are welcome to share their perspectives and experiences with the group and staff. JQY does not promote a way of life or belief system. The group support members' self-determination, and provides them with support while they explore their own identities, own beliefs, and make life decisions. [5]

JQY's hallmark program is the Drop-in Center for LGBTQ Jewish Teen which is open to anyone who is 13 to 23 years of age. [6] Though, they soon hope to expand the program to include individuals younger than the age of 13 in response to young people beginning to disclose their sexual and/or gender identity at younger ages. Provided both virtually and in-person, these sessions are a space for queer young adults to meet others they can relate to, participate in workshops, and become a part of an affirming community. When a member comes to a drop-in session for the first time, they have a private meeting with a social worker, where they discuss matters relating to self-harm and food/housing access. Meetings with social workers have revealed that more than 70% of JQY participants have experienced suicidal thoughts.

The organization contributed a video to the It Gets Better Project. [7]

JQY marched with Eshel and other Jewish LGBTQ organizations in the Celebrate Israel Parade of 2012, the first year openly LGBT groups were permitted to participate. [8] Participation in pride parades has been a contentious issue in the Orthodox LGBTQ community. [9]

In 2017 top Jewish musicians, such as Matisyahu, Neshama Carlebach and Eli Schwebel performed in support of JQY. [10]

JQY's crisis warm-line can be reached via call or text at 551-JQY-HOPE (551-579-4673). Contact this number to speak with one of JQY's licensed mental health professionals. [11]

Recent research suggests that JQY successfully helps their members build an essential peer network and negotiate tensions between religion and sexual orientation. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ movements</span> Social movements

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBTQ people in society. Although there is not a primary or an overarching central organization that represents all LGBTQ people and their interests, numerous LGBTQ rights organizations are active worldwide. The first organization to promote LGBTQ rights was the Scientific-Humanitarian Committee, founded in 1897 in Berlin.

<i>Queer</i> Umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or not cisgender

Queer is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or are not cisgender. Originally meaning 'strange' or 'peculiar', queer came to be used pejoratively against LGBT people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to reclaim the word as a neutral or positive self-description.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures</span> Variety of communities and subcultures

Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures are subcultures and communities composed of people who have shared experiences, backgrounds, or interests due to common sexual or gender identities. Among the first to argue that members of sexual minorities can also constitute cultural minorities were Adolf Brand, Magnus Hirschfeld, and Leontine Sagan in Germany. These pioneers were later followed by the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilitis in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ community</span> Community and culture of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people

The LGBTQ community is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning individuals united by a common culture and social movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality. LGBTQ activists and sociologists see LGBTQ community-building as a counterweight to heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, sexualism, and conformist pressures that exist in the larger society. The term pride or sometimes gay pride expresses the LGBTQ community's identity and collective strength; pride parades provide both a prime example of the use and a demonstration of the general meaning of the term. The LGBTQ community is diverse in political affiliation. Not all people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender consider themselves part of the LGBTQ community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in Bulgaria</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Bulgaria face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex relationships are legal in Bulgaria, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been banned since 2004, with discrimination based on "gender change" being outlawed since 2015. In July 2019, a Bulgarian court recognized a same-sex marriage performed in France in a landmark ruling. For 2020, Bulgaria was ranked 37 of 49 European countries for LGBT rights protection by ILGA-Europe. Like most countries in Central and Eastern Europe, post-Communist Bulgaria holds socially conservative attitudes when it comes to such matters as homosexuality and transgender people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Bosnia and Herzegovina may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female forms of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.

The origin of the LGBTQ student movement can be linked to other activist movements from the mid-20th century in the United States. The Civil Rights Movement and Second-wave feminist movement were working towards equal rights for other minority groups in the United States. Though the student movement began a few years before the Stonewall riots, the riots helped to spur the student movement to take more action in the US. Despite this, the overall view of these gay liberation student organizations received minimal attention from contemporary LGBTQ historians. This oversight stems from the idea that the organizations were founded with haste as a result of the riots. Others historians argue that this group gives too much credit to groups that disagree with some of the basic principles of activist LGBTQ organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in Cyprus</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Cyprus have evolved in recent years, but LGBTQ people still face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female expressions of same-sex sexual activity were decriminalised in 1998, and civil unions which grant several of the rights and benefits of marriage have been legal since December 2015. Conversion therapy was banned in Cyprus in May 2023. However, adoption rights in Cyprus are reserved for heterosexual couples only.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ culture in Brighton and Hove</span>

The LGBTQ community of Brighton and Hove is one of the largest in the United Kingdom. Brighton, a seaside resort on the south coast of England, has been described in some media as a "gay capital" of the UK, with records pertaining to LGBTQ history dating back to the early 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unitarian Universalism and LGBTQ people</span> Relationship between Unitarian Universalism and LGBTQ people

Unitarian Universalism, as practiced by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), and the Canadian Unitarian Council (CUC), is a non-Creedal and Liberal theological tradition and an LGBTQ affirming denomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keshet (organization)</span> Jewish LGBTQ organization

Keshet is a national grassroots organization with offices in Boston, New York, and the San Francisco Bay Area that works for the full equality and inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Jews in Jewish life. Led and supported by LGBTQ Jews and straight allies, Keshet offers resources, training, and technical assistance to create inclusive Jewish communities nationwide. Keshet produced the documentary Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School and companion curriculum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ movements in the United States</span>

LGBTQ movements in the United States comprise an interwoven history of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer social movements in the United States of America, beginning in the early 20th century. A commonly stated goal among these movements is social equality for LGBTQ people. Some have also focused on building LGBTQ communities or worked towards liberation for the broader society from biphobia, homophobia, and transphobia. LGBTQ movements organized today are made up of a wide range of political activism and cultural activity, including lobbying, street marches, social groups, media, art, and research. Sociologist Mary Bernstein writes:

For the lesbian and gay movement, then, cultural goals include challenging dominant constructions of masculinity and femininity, homophobia, and the primacy of the gendered heterosexual nuclear family (heteronormativity). Political goals include changing laws and policies in order to gain new rights, benefits, and protections from harm.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) affirming denominations in Judaism are Jewish religious groups that welcome LGBTQ members and do not consider homosexuality to be a sin. They include both entire Jewish denominations, as well as individual synagogues. Some are composed mainly of non-LGBT members and also have specific programs to welcome LGBT people, while others are composed mainly of LGBT members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bat Kol (organization)</span> Israeli organization for lesbians who are Orthodox Jews

Bat Kol is an Israeli organization that provides support services to lesbians who are Orthodox Jews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education and the LGBTQ community</span>

Historically speaking, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people have not been given equal treatment and rights by both governmental actions and society's general opinion. Much of the intolerance for LGBTQ individuals come from lack of education around the LGBTQ community, and contributes to the stigma that results in same-sex marriage being legal in few countries (31) and persistence of discrimination, such as in the workplace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of LGBTQ topics</span>

The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBTQ topics:

Chani Getter, LCSW (they/them) is a U.S. speaker, writer, therapist, and interfaith minister. Rev. Chani is also an award-winning activist and educator who supports a growing community of LGBTQ+ and non-binary people. Their life and work has been featured in two documentary films, DevOUT (2012) and One of Us (2017).

Rachael Fried is an American LGBTQ+ advocate, artist, and nonprofit leader, recognized for her work within the Jewish queer community. She currently serves as the Executive Director of JQY, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and empowering LGBTQ youth from Orthodox, Chasidic, and Sephardic/Mizrahi backgrounds.

References

  1. ↑ "JQY INC | Open990". www.open990.org. Retrieved 2021-02-23.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ "JQY INC | Open990". www.open990.org. Retrieved 2021-02-23.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ JQY. "Our Story". JQY. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  4. ↑ JQY. "Meet Rachael, JQY's New Executive Director". JQY. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  5. ↑ JQY. "FAQ". JQY. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  6. ↑ JQY. "Drop-in Center". JQY. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  7. ↑ "It Gets Better - Gay Orthodox Jews". youtube.com. 9 November 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "LGBT Groups March in the Celebrate Israel Parade". Human Rights Campaign. 4 June 2012. Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  9. ↑ See, for example, the approach of the organization Kamoha:
  10. ↑ JTA. "Top US Jewish musicians to perform in support of Jewish Queer Youth". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
  11. ↑ JQY. "Home Page – Get Immediate Help". JQY. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  12. ↑ Etengoff, C. (2013). Gay men's and their religious relatives' negotiation of sexual orientation, religion, family values, and homophobia (doctoral dissertation). New York, New York US: Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. (Accession Order No.3561270)


Gay flag.svg

This article about a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender-related organization is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.