Each June during Pride Month, Up2Us Sports celebrates and elevates the valuable contributions of our LGBTQ+ coaches, VISTAs, youth, staff and the broader community. We reaffirm our commitment to stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community in their ongoing struggle against discrimination and injustice.

According to The Trevor Project's 2022 National Survey based on 34,000 LGBTQ youth ages 13 to 24 across the United States, with 45% of respondents being of color and 48% being transgender or nonbinary, they found that 73% of LGBTQ youth have experienced discrimination and 36% have been physically threatened. Their research also shows that LGBTQ youth who report having at least one accepting adult were 40% less likely to report a suicide attempt in the past year. 

Up2Us Sports coaches and VISTAS are serving as a trusted adult in the lives of the youth they work with and are trained on how to create inclusive and supportive environments. Below, hear from AmeriCorps members Amelia, Jae, Jay and Kelsey on how they support their young people by creating safe environments and why representation through sport as an LGBTQ+ coach is so important.