Future of LGBT Youth Organization In Question

“It’s my understanding that it’s just a matter of time before the doors will be locked,” says Tana Hall.  She’s been involved with YouthPride since 1997, most recently as Director of Counseling Services. 

In December, she stopped getting a paycheck, and had her health insurance canceled.  That’s when Hall started asking questions.   

“I finally got a return phone call from the board chair, Jordan Myers, who then told me more than once that YouthPride needed to stop operations and would do so on Feb. 17, she said.

Her last day with YouthPride was Feb. 15^th, and she’s still owed nearly $2,700 in back pay. 

YouthPride’s Executive Director, Terrance McPhaul, says the organization is struggling financially, but he says its doors remain open.

“Youth Pride is still operating, it is not closed,” he says.  ”We’ve still been providing services.  We’ll continue to provide services.”

But McPhaul admits the non-profit isn’t functioning in accordance with its by-laws. 

He says there aren’t enough board members—others say there are no board members.

While McPhaul says he’s hired an attorney to make sure the organization gets back into compliance,  some within Atlanta’s LGBT community have little confidence in the executive director’s promises.

“As community members, we were concerned that we were being asked to give large amounts of money, and there seemed to be a lot of confusion around the current status of YouthPride—whether or not it was a legal entity,” says Charlie Stadtlander, who chairs the volunteer “YouthPride Community Initiative.” 

It’s one of two groups formed to look into YouthPride’s problems and make recommendations on how to keep the organization alive.

This week, the YouthPride Community Initiative hosted a meeting at St. Mark United Methodist Church in Midtown about YouthPride’s finances and future.  

In a video uploaded to YouTube by The Ga Voice, a local LGBT publication, it appears things got out of hand when Hall objected to McPhaul’s presence at the meeting.  A shouting match ensued.

Ultimately, McPhaul said estimates that YouthPride was more than $70,000 in debt were incorrect.

When an audience member asked McPhaul to clarify, he replied he knew the figures, but did not give them. 

Those in attendance say it took a long time to regain control of the meeting after the confrontation.

Meanwhile, Inman Park United Methodist Church—which leases YouthPride a building—has filed suit alleging the organization hasn’t paid rent since last June.

If the doors are open, it’s likely they won’t be long.  At least at the current location.

And Statlander says he’s lost hope.

“It’s sad to say—I don’t see any way that at this point, the current YouthPride can be saved.”

Now, the community is looking for other organizations that can step in and fulfill the needs of the hundreds of youth who rely on YouthPride’s services .