By Matt Simonette

Staff writer

The Center on Halsted last week said that it’s time for Lakeview to “engage in a dialogue” about the issues facing GLBT youth on Halsted Street.

Courtney Reid, the Center’s director of programs, said the Center is hosting a town hall meeting Aug. 30 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. that will address the challenges these youths face.

“There’s nowhere to go if you’re under 21,” Reid said. “The bars have been cracking down on underage drinking, and for good reason, obviously.”

But that leaves youths with few places that they can hang out in Lakeview without fear of harassment. Reid said she had been told, for example, of youths told to disperse by police because, supposedly, “They couldn’t walk on the east side of Clark Street.”

These youths are often disenfranchised, Reid said, and “need to have a place that they can have a meal and a place that they can just hang out.”

Reid said older adults in the GLBT community need to be more responsive and empathetic as well, adding, “The community often looks the other way when they encounter people who looks different.”

Reid pointed out that the Center is largely accessible to youths while it is open, currently from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. She also said that there are many times over the course of the week when it is largely dedicated to recreation and socializing for youths.

She added, however, that “we’re willing to engage in a dialogue” that would gauge whether the center needs to have extended hours for youths or expanded services offered to them.

“We’ll continue to educate the community about this issue and strategize about the best ways to provide services to them,” Reid said.

Reid added that talking to youths who already use the Center’s facilities would be an integral step in determining what to do next.

“What we don’t know is if they want to use the Center more often,” she said. “There are a lot of questions we have to answer—how do we start getting feedback? What are they seeking? What do we need to go give them a place to go?”