The city of Manhattan, KS manages a special tax on liquor sales that is then reallocated to community organizations for the purposes of drug an alcohol abuse prevention. True Colors has applied for this funding each year we were able to.

 

In 2022, the City Commission denied funding specifically to our organization while awarding funding to other organizations. There was no doubt that this was thinly veiled prejudice against the community that we serve.

 

In 2023, we applied once again and were denied funding. Finally, in 2024, we were awarded special alcohol funding for the first time as an organization. 

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This page serves to describe our approach to drug and alcohol abuse prevention through education and addressing preventative factors. 

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Please share the overall agency or program mission.

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True Colors Flint Hills (TC) was established in 2021 based on a deficit in community resources for queer and trans youth in Manhattan and the surrounding area. Our mission is to provide direct services, education and advocacy in support of queer and trans youth.

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TC opened its doors in July 2022 and became the first youth center in Kansas serving queer and trans youth. After surveying local middle school and high school GSAs, three primary services and needs were established and identified by LGBTQIA+ students; mental health, clothing, and affirming space.

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TC contracts with therapists to provide therapy services at no expense to underinsured and uninsured youth. This service is made possible through grant funding and, as of January, 2025, has allowed for 14 underinsured youth to receive therapy at no cost to them since September 2022.

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TC offers a gender-affirming clothing closet that youth can "shop" at no cost. This is a great resource for youth whose families cannot afford a new gender affirming wardrobe or who are not affirming of their youth’s expression or identities.

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TC also offers a safe, home-like environment for middle and high school youth to visit and interact with affirming, welcoming, safe adult volunteers, as well as other youth. TC is a community of belonging and affirmation.

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Since our opening in July 2022, we have served over 150 youth with an average of 20 youth attending daily during drop-in hours.

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Briefly explain the social challenges or problems this agency and/or program addresses. 

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By providing access, education, and facilitation in an affirming space, TC provides a multifaceted approach to decreasing stress, anxiety, depression, substance use, and suicidality in middle and high school youth. LGBTQIA+ youth are not inherently prone to these mental health risks because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, but rather, are placed at a higher risk because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized in society. LGBTQIA+ identifying youth experience higher levels of anxiety, depression and suicidality as a result of rejection and lack of social support and affirming spaces (The Trevor Project, 2024).

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Many LGBTQ youth living in the United States lack access to affirming spaces, with only 55% of LGBTQ youth reporting that their school is LGBTQ-affirming and only 37% saying that their home is LGBTQ-affirming (The Trevor Project, 2023). Research consistently finds that LGBTQ young people report lower rates of attempting suicide when they have access to LGBTQ-affirming spaces (The Trevor Project, 2024).

TC aims to address the mental health needs of LGBTQIA+ youth in a way that no other resource in the Flint Hills region does, by increasing youth access to protective factors, which in turn, reduces the impact of risk factors commonly correlated with this population due to outside stigmatization, prejudice, violence, and bullying. By focusing on the immediate needs of the youth that we serve, we hope to alleviate some of the stressors, discrimination, and lack of resources that this population faces, that often lead to mental health challenges such as underage substance use.

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References
The Trevor Project. (2023, August 24). School-related protective factors for LGBTQ middle and high school students. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/school-related-protective-factors-for-lgbtq-middle-and-high-school-students-aug-2023/

The Trevor Project. (2024). 2024 U.S. National Survey on the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2024/

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Explain in a budget narrative how CSFAB funds will be used for the organization and any specific program if applicable. If you applied for funding in 2024 and are requesting an increase, please explain why.

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One of the most efficient, practical, and effective preventative measures against drug and alcohol use that TC provides is accessibility to programming opportunities and a safe space for youth that are completely free of alcohol and drugs. This is especially critical for the population we serve, as LGBTQIA+ youth are disproportionately more likely to use substances than their cisgender and heterosexual peers due to the stigmatization and bullying they face from outside sources (Jones et al., 2020; The Trevor Project, 2022). Therefore, TC’s component approach to drug and alcohol prevention is access to mental health services and regular programing at the TC house, including programing specifically directed at alcoholism and drug abuse prevention and education, which the Executive Director will continue to oversee.

Since 2022, TC has collaborated with individuals and agencies including Kansas State University’s Addiction Counseling Program Coordinator, Cheryl Calhoun, LMSW, LMAC, the Riley County Health Department, and Developing Caring Communities Committed to Action (DCCCA), all of whom have come to the TC house to speak to our youth about topics related to substance abuse prevention and education. Additional substance-free programming that we offer includes book club, arts & crafts classes, cooking & baking club, gardening club and Life Talks. Feedback from our youth directly shapes the programming offered at the house in order to best meet youth needs throughout each academic year. Youth have been involved in planning programming since the creation of our agency, and they continue to have a vital voice in organization, as with the youth board who directs programming and services provided by the organization.

The Executive Director will also continue to oversee all mental health collaboration with local therapists and mental health programming for our youth. Due to grant funding, we are able to provide therapy services for underinsured and uninsured LGBTQIA+ youth in 6th through 12th grade at no cost to our youth. The Executive Director also supports youth in accessing other agencies and/or therapists on a need-by-need basis when requested. The clinicians we work with support youth who may be experiencing challenges related to depression, anxiety, suicidality, and substance use, all of which disproportionately impact LGBTQIA+ youth due to societal, communal, and familial stigmatization and discrimination (Jones et al., 2020; The Trevor Project, 2022; The Trevor Project, 2024).

References
Jones, C. M., Clayton, H. B., Deputy, N. P., Roehler, D. R., Ko, J. Y., Esser, M. B., Brookmeyer, K. A., & Hertz, M. F. (2020). Prescription Opioid Misuse and Use of Alcohol and Other Substances Among High School Students - Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2019. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69(1), 38–46. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su6901a5

The Trevor Project. (2022, January 27). Substance use and suicide risk among LGBTQ youth. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/substance-use-and-suicide-risk-among-lgbtq-youth-jan-2022/

The Trevor Project. (2024). 2024 U.S. National Survey on the mental health of LGBTQ+ young people. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2024/

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What geographical area does your agency provide services to? If you serve a regional area larger than the City of Manhattan, explain your rationale for the amount of funding you are seeking from the City.

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TC provides services to middle school and high school youth (12-18 years old) across Riley, Pottawatomie, and Geary Counties in Kansas in order to offer broad accessibility to resources for LGBTQIA+ youth in Kansas. However, a majority of the youth we serve–90%--are from Riley County.