Time Out Youth

Time Out Youth is a Youth Center based in Charlotte, NC that supports the young LGBTQ+ community ages 11-20. 

As a teenager, Tonda Taylor realized that she wasn’t like the girls in her class. Not knowing how to navigate her conflicting emotions, she relocated to New York where she lived for 20 years until a tragedy in her family brought her back to Charlotte. After being approached by a teenager about not knowing how to maneuver her feelings, she realized that there were no resources for the LGBTQ+ youth in Charlotte. Tonda took action and got together with other community activists, clergy, and educators and together they founded Time Out Youth. 

Time Out Youth Center seeks to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ youths to find community and to be themselves freely without judgment. 

Some of the programs they offer are in-person drop-ins, which are suspended due to Covid. Time Out Youth Center mirrors the  Mecklenburg County calendar, and therefore plans to reopen for the new school year. Once the center opens up, youth can drop in after school to play games, socialize, or just hang. They create a sex-positive environment where questions can be answered and discussed in a healthy setting with professional counselors. They also provide free STD testing. Youth can also have access to their library of over 1000 resources written by or for the LBGTQ+ community. The Time Out Youth Center also has a state-of-the-art cyber center where youth can get access to the internet for homework, research, or socialization. Time Out Youth creates a safe space for conversations based on the different needs of the youth. For instance, there is a group that is specifically for gender issues and another for LGBTQ+ of color.  

This organization also hosts an annual LGBTQ+ prom as well as a graduation ceremony for graduates.

Although Covid has changed the way that many organizations and facilities operate, the Time Out Youth Center was still able to be very impactful. 

Time Out Youth also provides a  safe virtual space for discussion about topics where the youth may not have another safe place to share. 

More Resources Provided by Time Out Youth

Financial assistance is available for struggling youth who attend their programs. 

Sometimes adolescents are kicked out of their homes and do not have a place to live because of their sexual orientation. Time Out Youth helps to create safe and welcoming places for homeless youth to live with their host home program. 

They also provide counseling and have their own in-house counselor and resources for those experiencing dating violence. 

Time Out Youth also host events for those working with youth of the LGBQT+ community such as the Community Safe Zone that educated those who want to support young people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. 

For the month of June, we are donating 15% of our profits to Time Out Youth as well as 100% profits from our Pide to collection.