Opinion :: Letters
There is no money for LGBT youth in state budgetThursday May 14, 2009 To the Editor:
The MA Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth urges you to note that the FY10 House Budget amount of $820,000 for GLBT Youth, as reported in last week’s Bay Windows, was incorrect. Sadly, there is currently no dollar amount whatsoever identified for GLBT youth in the state budget, either in the Governor’s or the House versions.
It is critical that our constituents and allies understand the gravity of this situation for GLBT youth statewide. Unless this budget omission is corrected in the Senate budget, GLBT youth programs and services, including funding for gay-straight alliances, teacher training, youth conferences and community support services will be decimated and, in many cases, eliminated.
The state budget cannot be balanced by cutting services to our most vulnerable populations. In these precarious times, we cannot afford to put the health and safety of vulnerable GLBT youth at risk. We urge your readers to contact their state senator this week and stress the need to restore language and funding for GLBT youth programs in specific line items: Department of Elementary and Second Education (#7010-0005) and Department of Public Health (#4590-0250).
Thank you for assisting us in bringing this information to the attention of our GLBT community.
Lisa Perry-Wood, Executive Director, MA Commission on GLBT Youth
Jacob Smith Yang, Chair for the MA Commission on GLBT Youth
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