Our New Strategic Plan 2025-2027: You Belong Here

Many of us have lived through times when things were rough before and survived terrible times in the past. Our opponents want to kill hope, so that we are easily manipulated and dominated and we become hopeless. We want to make sure young people don’t become hopeless as they encounter this hostile environment for the first time – so they know there are paths and ways things can get better.   

However, progress can no longer be assumed.   

Anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime and hate speech, particularly related to trans people, is on the rise. We have seen this translate to violent attacks and assaults, misinformation and scare tactics. A very small number of individuals and groups in Ireland, importing fear and hate tactics from other countries, are attempting to drag Ireland back to a less tolerant, more dangerous place to be LGBTQ+.  

We won’t let that happen.  

During these times, when our courage is tested and we face attacks on our day-to-day work as an organisation, we lean into our values, our strong team and our collective dedication to continue to be there for LGBTQ+ youth. 

Our new Strategic Plan ‘You Belong Here’ sets out our roadmap on how we will do this for the next three years – with the lives, rights and voice of LGBTQ+ youth at the core of what we do and how we do it. 

We formally launched the plan yesterday at an online event which you can watch back here: 

In this plan, the experiences and voices of LGBTQ+ young people are louder than ever with the growth of our Youth Advisory Panel and youth participation – who were central to its development.  

How we Will Make Sure Young People Belong Here  

We will continue to respond to the needs of the young people we work with, grow our range of unique projects, supports and groups, and expand our age range to meet the needs of young people from 10 years old.  

Just some of the highlights of what we are setting out to achieve include:  

• Securing a permanent home for young people in Dublin City Centre, where connection and fun go hand in hand 

• Expanding supports and resources for the families of LGBTQ+ youth through innovation and growth 

• Building on the capacity of professionals in social and healthcare settings to better support LGBTQ+ youth  

• Building an extensive hub for factual information based on our growing evidence base and research developed with academic institutions  

This plan has been developed collaboratively with people from all walks of life and who care about the wellbeing and safety of LGBTQ+ young people – including them.  

We thank all those who offered their insights to shape this plan – funders, donors, Board of Directors, volunteers, staff, partner organisations, teachers, youth workers, parents and, most importantly, young people themselves. 

Over the next three years, we will continue to be there with and for LGBTQ+ young people. We look forward to bringing this plan to life, creating a world where LGBTQ+ young people are safe to shine and can confidently shape their own futures.