Generation Q

The Generation Q Youth Services Program serves all interested lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender (LGBT) and ally youth up to age 22 with an after school drop in center that is a friendly, safe and supportive environment. The Gen Q program offers LGBT youth in Queens a wide variety of educational, social services and recreational opportunities, including weekly workshops, film screenings, support groups, writing classes, socials, and arts- and theatre-based activities. The program also provides participants with meaningful opportunities for advocacy and activism, youth event-planning, peer education, community-building and leadership.

Located at:

30-74 Steinway Street, Astoria, NY 11103
(718) 204-5955
Marisa Ragonese, Director, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Contact Marisa Ragonese if you are interested in any of the workshops listed below:

Workshops/Trainings Available to the QCH, Settlement House Community, Schools, and After-School Programs LGBTQ (and sometimes “A”)
Research and experience consistently shows us that most bigotry—particularly homophobia—is caused, upheld, and fueled by misinformation and lack of communication and connection about and across difference.  With this is mind, workshop participants are invited to ask any questions they have about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues and people, and to get an honest answer from a skilled facilitator knowledgeable of LGBT people and culture and systemic homophobia, who will simultaneously create conditions for change.
Time:  1 hour   Ages: 11-21
Also available as an adult/staff/educator/social worker training or for a mixed adult/youth training.

Don't Just Stand By!
In this session facilitated by a Generation Q staff person and a trained youth educator, participants work together using structured discussion and role playing to brainstorm realistic and effective ways to safely take a stand against harassment using participants'
own experiences, stories, strengths, and strategies.
Time:  1 hour   Ages: 5-10 (child-appropriate version); 11-21

Creating an Anti-Slur Policy
A practical, thorough, and evocative conversation on the need to set standards of respect for diversity and difference which results in a comprehensive anti-slur policy for a community program, space, or classroom.  Using structured, open discussion and private brief writing exercises, kids identify and discuss who gets teased in their communities as they identify why, and then work with Generation Q staff and youth educators to develop empathy, understanding, and tools to address discrimination as we work together to generate a policy complete with consequences.  Generation Q leaves participants with this policy, foundations for next steps to continue the conversations we begin, and a roadmap for respect.
Time:  1 hour   Ages: 5-10; 11-21

Sticks and Stones
By focusing on bullying and homophobic name-calling and exploring participants’ own (mis)information about gay people in a non-judgmental and honest atmosphere, facilitators guide participants to connect their personal experiences with bullying to a new understanding of the effects of homophobia on kids.  This session uses group work, factual information, visual guides, and discussion to tackle the wide range of issues which emerge as the session progresses.
Time:  1 hour  Ages: 11-21
Also available as an adult/staff/educator/social worker training or for a mixed adult/youth training.

Sticks and Stones, Early Childhood
Enlisting children as “researchers” who have valuable data to share, collect, compile, and examine, this workshop helps children identify and examine bullying, its effects on themselves and their peers, and provides kids with working definitions and strategies for coping. Ultimately this session works to reduce the consequences of bullying including victimization, isolation, and helplessness, as it works to replace bullying behaviors with healthier, communication-based problem solving.
Time: 1 hour  Ages: 5-10

Sticks and Stones for Educators, Social/Youth Workers, and Program Directors
By focusing on bullying and homophobic name-calling and exploring participants’ own (mis)information about LGBT people in a non-judgmental and honest atmosphere, facilitators guide participants to connect their personal and professional experiences with bullying, conflict resolution, and youth work to a nuanced understanding of the effects of homophobia on kids--and techniques for creating environments and conversations which honor diversity.  This session uses group work, factual information, visual guides, and discussion to tackle the wide range of issues which emerge as the session progresses.
Time:  1.5 hours
Also available as a lesson/training for children, teens, and mixed adult/youth groups.

Beauty Is Skin Deep
In this workshop, participants are invited to identify and analyze exclusive and popular beauty standards that are presented by the media—and perpetuated by people. Youth develop media literacy skills by taking part in a guided conversation based upon attractive media representations they choose. They are invited to recognize the disparities between the narrow representations of what is attractive in the media and the reality of how diverse people can be, as well as the media’s harmful effects on self-esteem and body image, especially for girls and women, through the lens of actual statistics and their own experiences.
Time: 1 hour  Ages: 12 and up