OUT Maine

Please join us in congratulating Cassie Cooper on their promotion to Associate Director here at OUT Maine! Cassie was previously our School Engagement Coordinator, where they were able to spearhead new programs like the Safe School Cohort and the GSTA Network. We're excited to have them in a leadership role now and eager to see the continued impacts they'll have on LGBTQIA2S+ youth in Maine. Read the full press release on our blog. https://lnkd.in/eE5T2fvN Also, this means that we're hiring for a new School Engagement Coordinator! Learn more and apply on the jobs page of our website. https://lnkd.in/e_8wP4hV

On October 10th, 6-7:30pm, join OUT Maine and the University of Southern Maine's Scontras Center for Labor and Community Education for a (free!) discussion around the trans experience within the labor movement. Learn how labor struggles and trans liberation go hand in hand. 🌈 RSVP here! https://lnkd.in/em29peam

🌈 LGBTQ+ youth: make your voice heard! Are you over 13 years old and attended a middle or high school during the 23-24 school year in Maine, or anywhere else in the U.S.? Join us in shaping safer, more affirming schools. Take GLSEN’s National School Climate Survey and let them know about your experience being queer in school! GLSEN provides a lot of fantastic resources and data that we reference here at OUT Maine during many of our trainings and programs, so now is the time for your voice to be heard. https://lnkd.in/e8VyRnJH

We're #hiring a new School Engagement Coordinator in Rockland, Maine. Apply today or share this post with your network.

Calling all York county businesses; free #training opportunity! 🌈 Learn how to cultivate a welcoming and inclusive environment in your space. Join OUT Maine and the Maine Prevention Network on October 16th, 3-5pm at People's Choice Credit Union in Saco (23 Industrial Park Rd, Saco, ME 04072). You can read the full training description below and register here! https://lnkd.in/eP8hhcGT "Do you want to put a rainbow flag up, but need to make sure that your staff are equipped to support LGBTQ+ youth? Do you know how to assess your space for LGBTQ+ inclusion? This training will provide participants with an overview of terminology, rights, and laws, and will focus on how to create a welcoming and supportive workplace, how to back up your "safe space" sticker with tangible actions, and how to constructively address community pushback. All York businesses welcome!"

I’m #hiring. Know anyone who might be interested?

Calling all York county businesses; free #training opportunity! 🌈 Learn how to cultivate a welcoming and inclusive environment in your space. Join OUT Maine and the Maine Prevention Network on October 16th, 3-5pm at People's Choice Credit Union in Saco (23 Industrial Park Rd, Saco, ME 04072). You can read the full training description below and register here! https://lnkd.in/eP8hhcGT "Do you want to put a rainbow flag up, but need to make sure that your staff are equipped to support LGBTQ+ youth? Do you know how to assess your space for LGBTQ+ inclusion? This training will provide participants with an overview of terminology, rights, and laws, and will focus on how to create a welcoming and supportive workplace, how to back up your "safe space" sticker with tangible actions, and how to constructively address community pushback. All York businesses welcome!"

For over 28 years, OUT Maine has worked towards building a welcoming and affirming Maine for all rural young people of diverse sexual orientations, gender expressions, and gender identities. To do this, we provide supportive programs to LGBTQIA2S+ youth, their families, and other community members. Our annual Program Impact Report measures our programs’ reach in Maine, both geographically and individually. Keep scrolling to read the FY’23-’24 report, or visit our website to view the whole brochure! https://lnkd.in/eWCFg__E

Lastly in our social and emotional learning (#SEL) competencies we have responsible decision-making. The CASEL Framework defines this as "the abilities to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations." That could look like, for example, our Youth Advisory Board deciding or refining workshop topics to best suit their peers, and our upcoming GSTA Student Council brainstorming ways to improve their school climates. All of these SEL outcomes are lifelong skills that we're proud to help Maine's youth develop!

Another core competency in the CASEL Framework for social and emotional learning (#SEL) is that of relationship skills. As we've been discussing, all of OUT Maine's youth and adult programs are run in the pursuit of at least one SEL competency. Relationship skills are defined as the ability the successfully form and maintain healthy, supportive relationships, as well as navigate interactions with diverse individuals and groups. That could look like our weekly youth group discussions, collaborative group workshops at OMGLOL, and more! 🌈