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TSA Youth Group
 Serving Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Trans youth
in southwestern Indiana, northwestern
Kentucky and southeastern illinois
TSA
The Tri-State Alliance is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization that was created in 1980 to make our region a better place for the GLBT communities.

Funding for TSA’s HIV prevention program comes from grants from the Broadway Cares, the Indiana AIDS Fund; from fundraisers and from private donations.

Other services TSA Provides include:

  • Publishes the Regional GLBT newspaper Has a speakers bureau and provides cultural competency training Performs HIV prevention outreach at area gay bars, adult book stores, GLBT student groups and also performs street outreach Sponsors the regional AIDS Christmas Project, providing food, gifts and gift certificates to individuals impacted by AIDS, their children and significant others. Leadership Evansville & the Evansville Courier & Press named this project the Outstanding Community Project for 2002.
  • TSA YOUTH GROUP

The TSA Youth Group is a safe place for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth under the age of 21, and their straight supporting friends/allies. The TSA Youth Group is coordinated by an HIV Prevention Outreach Director, and staffed by a group of volunteers, which include a professional licensed social worker, a social work student, a business professional, an HIV/STD Disease Intervention Specialist, a local Career Counselor, and a Substance Abuse Counselor.

Only with the support of the community will the TSA Youth Group continue to grow and thrive.

TSA is creating Friends of the TSA Youth Group. The goal of this group is to raise money and awareness for the TSA Youth Group. To volunteer, call 812-480-0204, or e-mail wallypaynter@aol.com.

How we began

In August of 1998 a series of hate crimes occurred in downtown Evansville against gay, lesbian and bi youth. As a result of these hate crimes, TSA (our region’s leading GLBT social service organization) created the TSA Youth Group.

This group meets on a weekly basis at a social service agency in downtown Evansville. The TSA Youth Group is a safe place for GLBT youth in our region to come together, socialize and have their needs met. GLBT youth attend not only from Evansville, but also from such Indiana cities as Boonville, Jasper, New Albany, Shoals, Vincennes; Kentucky communities of Henderson, Owensboro and Madisonville; and such Illinois communities as Carmi, Eldorado, Harrisburg, Lawrenceville, Marion, Mt. Carmel, Norris City and Olney. The TSA Youth Group offers a variety of services to at-risk self-identified gay, lesbian and bisexual youth throughout our region.

Among the services we provide are:
  • HIV and STD Prevention: TSA works to provide HIV and STD prevention to this at-risk group. This goes beyond condom distribution, and includes working on such risk co-factors as alcohol and drug abuse, communication skills, self-esteem, and dating skills. TSA provides free confidential and anonymous HIV testing at its youth group. TSA works with high school and college students on study skills and habits, helps youth apply for college, take college-prep tests and even help prepare for the GED.
  • Other life skills TSA helps its youth with are job hunting, creating a resume, apartment hunting, coming out to your parents, money management and other needs as they arise.

SPECIAL EVENTS
 TSA hosts a variety of special events each month for the youth group. The
youth group plans for these events. At times these occur on Saturday nights
after the youth group, and sometimes they occur on a special night.

Events such as watching movies, going to putt-putt golf, going to Gay Day
Holiday World or other theme parks, dining out, swimming and cookouts are
among the special events the youth group plans.

These events are paid for by private donations and through fundraisers
conducted by the members of the youth group.

GLBT Prom
 Some major events, like the GLBT Prom, are sponsored by the TSA Youth in
collaboration with GLBT student groups from Vincennes University, the
University of Evansville and the University of Southern Indiana.