New ED for GLBT youth commission; next meeting in Springfield

"She's committed to the cause. She was working with the commission. She had all the skills we needed to drive the commission's work forward, and we couldn't have found a better candidate," said commission chair Jason Smith.

"The Commission's focus on suicide prevention, violence intervention, and the promotion of zero-tolerance policies regarding harassment and discrimination against GLBT youth are issues that are near and dear to my heart," said Perry-Wood in a March 10 statement. "I am grateful to have the confidence of this fine group in my ability to lead these important initiatives for youth in our state."

Perry-Wood was most recently a principal in Clarity Consulting Partners, a non-profit management and development consulting group. She is a resident and Town Meeting member in Lexington.

On March 17, the commission will hold a meeting in Springfield as the latest in a series of regional meetings. Since last May the commission has traveled to cities and towns throughout the state, meeting with groups of LGBT and ally youth and talking with them about the issues they face in school, at home and in the community. All of those meetings with youth, including the upcoming meeting in Springfield, are closed to the public to protect the privacy of the youth.

Smith said the meetings have helped give the commission a sense of how badly LGBT youth programs have been hurt by the budget cuts of the last few years, particularly under the administration of former governor, Mitt Romney.

"I think we also realize ... that people playing politics with GLBT youth has created a very fractured and inconsistent system for providing services for GLBT youth. I think we're finding that needs to be addressed," said Smith. "People are playing political football with queer kids, and the infrastructure shows it, and it really needs to get fixed."

He also said the meetings give the commissioners a better sense of the struggles and successes of the young people who speak with them.

"You realize that a lot of the problems GLBT youth face are a lot more pervasive than are sometimes clear ... and the problems are also very complicated. But at the same time a lot of GLBT youth are also resilient, which is a good thing," said Smith.

Beyond the meeting with youth the commission will also hold its regular business meeting, which is open to the public. Smith said the agenda is not yet entirely set, but one of the major topics the commission will address is the state budget. The House Ways and Means Committee is currently preparing its budget proposal, and the full House is expected to debate it next month. Currently the state spends $600,000 on LGBT youth programs, far below the high watermark of $1.6 million prior to the state budget crisis.

Smith said this year the commission would push for an increase to bring the total funding up to around $2.5 million. He said while that number may seem high, the commission has determined that amount will bring LGBT youth programs back up to the level before the cuts, accounting for inflation and the cost of rebuilding infrastructure lost over the last several years. He said the commission would discuss the budget in more detail at the Springfield meeting.

The next business meeting of the Massachusetts Commission for GLBT Youth will be held March 17 at Springfield Central High School, 1840 Roosevelt Ave, beginning at 6:30 p.m. It is open to the public. For more information call 617.624.5485