Christopher T. Gonzalez, (known as Chris Gonzalez), was an LGBTQ+ rights

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

from

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

.Diana Penner. ''The Indianapolis Star''. 1994-4-3, pp. 1-2. Retrieved 2010-27-2. He founded the

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Indiana Youth Group Indiana Youth Group (IYG) is a LGBTQ+ advocacy and support group based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded by Christopher T. Gonzalez, in recent years the organization has had a growing number of clients, including LGBTQ+ youth as well as their par ...

(IYG), one of the first organizations in the country to support gay, lesbian,

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

, and

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

youth.

Early life

Gonzalez was born October 28, 1963, and grew up in Griffith, Indiana, in a traditional Hispanic family. He served as student council president at Griffith High School and was the voice behind morning announcements.Ruth Holladay. ''Indianapolis Star''. 1992-15-3. Retrieved 2010-24-2. Chris struggled with his sexuality in high school. Gonzalez attended Franklin College in the early 1980s, where he began volunteering for Gay/Lesbian Switchboard as a counselor; while there, he met his life partner Jeff Werner.

Self-revelation and self-acceptance

By the time he completed his degree, Gonzalez had come to terms with his homosexuality. While he had been fearful of

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

to his parents, they were ultimately accepting. Through his own struggles, Gonzalez realized the need for young LGBTQ+ individuals to have someone to talk to, which lead to him volunteering as a counselor for the Gay/Lesbian Switchboard in Indianapolis. During the early 1980s, the hotline was a link teens who were grappling with their

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

peer pressure Peer pressure is a direct or indirect influence on peers, i.e., members of social groups with similar interests and experiences, or social statuses. Members of a peer group are more likely to influence a person's beliefs, values, religion and beh ...

, sexual identity, parents and family issues, etc. Through his work there, Gonzalez realized the support that LGBTQ+ youth needed, and reminded him of his own journey; he was unwilling to let the gay and lesbian-identified adolescents remain "stuck in a self-hatred kind of place."

Creation of Indiana Youth Group

Founded in 1987 as a response to the needs of self-identified Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Questioning youth,

(formerly known as ''Indianapolis Youth Group''Diana Penner. ''The Indianapolis Star''. 1994-7-5. p. 1-2. Retrieved 2010-27-2.) held its first meeting in the living room of founders, Chris Gonzalez and Jeff Werner with support from Pat Jordan. After five years of operation, IYG was named a Special Projects of National Significance for its programs protecting the mental and physical health of Indiana's

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

youth. For years, IYG operated an activity and program facility donated by the ''Health Foundation of Greater Indianapolis'', which was renovated and maintained by community supporters. After fully appreciating and utilizing every square inch of that homelike space, IYG now occupies a 15,000 square foot Activity Center with room for large, medium and small groups, a spacious kitchen, education, art, and transitional apparel rooms. Youth with basic needs can access the pantry, showers, and laundry machines. Nationally recognized as the first nonprofit organization in the country specifically dedicated to gay and lesbian youth issues, IYG has garnered countless awards, grants, and state funding. In 1992, it was featured on ABC News program ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of visual perception, vision, but technically rates an animal's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity depends on optical and neural factors. Optical factors of the eye ...

''. IYG continues to operate the activity center and provides support groups and workshops on a variety of topics. Additionally, IYG fosters working relationships with high schools around the state to form and support

gay–straight alliance A gay–straight alliance, gender–sexuality alliance (GSA) or queer–straight alliance (QSA) is a student-led or community-based organization, found in middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities. These are primarily in the Uni ...

Legacy

Gonzalez was a person who fought for the rights of LGBT youth in Indiana and across the country. "Gonzalez made sure the national advocates heard the 'voices from the Heartland." In addition to his commitment to LGBT youth, he also worked with Latino youth at the ''Hispanic Center'','' Gays and Lesbians Working Against Violence'' and lobbied for an

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

hate crimes bill. He died of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

on May 5, 1994.

References

External links