July is Disability Pride Month!
This July, The Garage celebrates Disability Pride Month! On July 26th, 1990, The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law, prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of a disability. We now celebrate Disability Pride month as a way to break down and end internalized shame among people with disabilities, as well as celebrate the achievements within the community.
At The Garage, we continue to work on breaking down barriers to inclusion and amplify the voices of all teens in our community.
Brenna Moore
Program Coordinator
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
At The Garage, we continue to work on breaking down barriers to inclusion and amplify the voices of all teens in our community.
Brenna Moore
Program Coordinator
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
June is Pride Month! 🌈
This summer, the Garage will be hosting our 4th annual Pride event. The Garage's first Pride was a distanced drive-through Pride in 2020 during the pandemic and was planned by Garage seniors who didn't want Pride Month to pass by without a way to celebrate.
In March 2020 when everything shut down due to COVID, we had to cancel the Garage’s Rainbow Prom that students had already begun the planning for. Rainbow Prom was our teens’ way to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and it was really hard for everyone to know that they weren’t going to have that opportunity that year.
Right before the Garage had our first partial reopening on June 11th, 2020 (with capacity restrictions and mask requirements), some of our teens reached out to us with the idea of a distanced drive-through Pride. So on June 27th, 2020, we did exactly that. It was a really beautiful moment of joining together when there was so little opportunity to do so. Our teens decked-out our street and building in Rainbows and handmade signs and people drove by in their decorated cars as we all cheered them on. They put together a table of beaded necklaces, handmade buttons, party hats, and candy and tossed them to people through their windows. Mayor Mary Lou Pauly paid us a visit and read a Pride Proclamation to commemorate the day and we still have the proclamation framed in the Garage. Since then, it’s become an annual tradition for Garage teens to plan a Pride for our community.
We hope you join us for this year’s Garage Pride on Saturday, June 24th from 12:00-3:00 p.m.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/garage-pride-tickets-646421172127
Tiana Parry
Program Manager
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
In March 2020 when everything shut down due to COVID, we had to cancel the Garage’s Rainbow Prom that students had already begun the planning for. Rainbow Prom was our teens’ way to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community and it was really hard for everyone to know that they weren’t going to have that opportunity that year.
Right before the Garage had our first partial reopening on June 11th, 2020 (with capacity restrictions and mask requirements), some of our teens reached out to us with the idea of a distanced drive-through Pride. So on June 27th, 2020, we did exactly that. It was a really beautiful moment of joining together when there was so little opportunity to do so. Our teens decked-out our street and building in Rainbows and handmade signs and people drove by in their decorated cars as we all cheered them on. They put together a table of beaded necklaces, handmade buttons, party hats, and candy and tossed them to people through their windows. Mayor Mary Lou Pauly paid us a visit and read a Pride Proclamation to commemorate the day and we still have the proclamation framed in the Garage. Since then, it’s become an annual tradition for Garage teens to plan a Pride for our community.
We hope you join us for this year’s Garage Pride on Saturday, June 24th from 12:00-3:00 p.m.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/garage-pride-tickets-646421172127
Tiana Parry
Program Manager
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
May is Mental Health Awareness Month!
Talking about mental health with your teen can be scary, but in this climate, it can be life-altering, if not life-saving. The decline of mental health in adolescents is no secret, and rates of depression, substance use, suicide ideation and attempts, and acts of violence continue to rise. Current statistics are available in the recent CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance study, and they are staggering.
Things are challenging. But there is hope. We can combat this epidemic by bringing mental health issues, discussions, and solutions out of the shadows and into our everyday conversations. The more we shine a light on the problems kids face and their emotions, the more we can normalize life's ups and downs and destigmatize seeking help.
Many adults need help figuring out where to start. Some fear instigating the conversation. Knowing some universal truths may help reduce some of your own anxious feelings about talking to your child:
Start the conversation. For tips and to learn more about youth mental health, visit https://mhanational.org/talking-adolescents-and-teens-starting-conversation.
Call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones.
Karen Crowe
Past Board Chair
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
Things are challenging. But there is hope. We can combat this epidemic by bringing mental health issues, discussions, and solutions out of the shadows and into our everyday conversations. The more we shine a light on the problems kids face and their emotions, the more we can normalize life's ups and downs and destigmatize seeking help.
Many adults need help figuring out where to start. Some fear instigating the conversation. Knowing some universal truths may help reduce some of your own anxious feelings about talking to your child:
- All kids will wrestle with their emotions and confidence at some point
- Talking about mental health will not create mental health problems
- Social struggles in their circles will occur
- Getting therapy is a sign of strength, not weakness
- Sometimes, it takes a few tries to find the right therapeutic fit
- Much like a coach for sports or a tutor for academics, a good therapist can help a client build better skills for the challenges they face.
Start the conversation. For tips and to learn more about youth mental health, visit https://mhanational.org/talking-adolescents-and-teens-starting-conversation.
Call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones.
Karen Crowe
Past Board Chair
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
April is Autism Acceptance Month!
At The Garage, we want to wish everyone a Happy Autism Acceptance Month! One of the goals of our organization is to create a space that welcomes and celebrates the full spectrum of neurodiversity, which is why we choose to use the language of “autism acceptance” over “autism awareness”.
In the words of one of our autistic teens, “Awareness focuses on shortcomings or deficits. Autism Awareness can cause uncomfortable interactions and discrimination. Acceptance allows the autistic community and their allies to bring light to autism without shaming or misinforming”.
To learn more about the importance of autism acceptance and self advocacy of autistic individuals, please visit the Autistic Self Advocacy Network for more information!
https://autisticadvocacy.org/
Brenna Moore
Program Coordinator
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
In the words of one of our autistic teens, “Awareness focuses on shortcomings or deficits. Autism Awareness can cause uncomfortable interactions and discrimination. Acceptance allows the autistic community and their allies to bring light to autism without shaming or misinforming”.
To learn more about the importance of autism acceptance and self advocacy of autistic individuals, please visit the Autistic Self Advocacy Network for more information!
https://autisticadvocacy.org/
Brenna Moore
Program Coordinator
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
March is Women's History Month!
During this year’s Women’s History Month, The Garage wants to restate the importance of gender equality to our vision as an organization. We strive to celebrate this month through a lens of intersectionality. The inclusion of women of color, disabled women, transgender women, and queer women is how The Garage aims to lead our community by example. We are continuously learning and collaborating to make our organization as empowering as possible, and are so excited to continue this journey with the people of Issaquah and beyond.
“Women are fierce — we break barriers, run companies, make scientific discoveries, raise families, and lift each other up. But the fact is, discriminatory policies blocked women from fully participating in our country for generations. It led to disparities in wages, representation and opportunities that we are still tackling. Though we have more Native women serving in Congress, a woman of color in the vice president’s office, and women making moves across the country, we still have to recognize that the disadvantages that we face are created by a system designed to keep us out, and that, coupled with systemic racism, makes Women’s History Month all the more important.”
-Deb Haaland, United States Secretary of the Interior
Brenna Moore
Program Coordinator
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
“Women are fierce — we break barriers, run companies, make scientific discoveries, raise families, and lift each other up. But the fact is, discriminatory policies blocked women from fully participating in our country for generations. It led to disparities in wages, representation and opportunities that we are still tackling. Though we have more Native women serving in Congress, a woman of color in the vice president’s office, and women making moves across the country, we still have to recognize that the disadvantages that we face are created by a system designed to keep us out, and that, coupled with systemic racism, makes Women’s History Month all the more important.”
-Deb Haaland, United States Secretary of the Interior
Brenna Moore
Program Coordinator
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
February is Black History Month!
This February, the Garage recognizes Black History Month as a time to honor the legacy of Black community leaders and to continue supporting Black and Brown youth.
Since December of 2022, The Garage has been partnering with Relevant Engagement to build relationships among our teens of color that foster community and healing in culturally relevant ways through art and music. Check out their work here.
We also invite you to learn more about and support the work of the Issaquah School District Student Equity Council, a “student-led group focused on developing district-wide policies, projects, and programs that equitably reflect the needs and experiences of our increasingly diverse student body”.
Finally, we would like to share a Resource Guide compiled by Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust for BIPOC interested in breaking into outdoors and conservation careers. https://mtsgreenway.org/blog/bipoc-outdoors-resource-guide/
Join us in learning more about and supporting local businesses, groups and organizations that sustain and uplift Black and Brown communities.
“And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another[...]"
-Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb, 2021
Serena Narisawa
Program Coordinator
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
Since December of 2022, The Garage has been partnering with Relevant Engagement to build relationships among our teens of color that foster community and healing in culturally relevant ways through art and music. Check out their work here.
We also invite you to learn more about and support the work of the Issaquah School District Student Equity Council, a “student-led group focused on developing district-wide policies, projects, and programs that equitably reflect the needs and experiences of our increasingly diverse student body”.
Finally, we would like to share a Resource Guide compiled by Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust for BIPOC interested in breaking into outdoors and conservation careers. https://mtsgreenway.org/blog/bipoc-outdoors-resource-guide/
Join us in learning more about and supporting local businesses, groups and organizations that sustain and uplift Black and Brown communities.
“And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another[...]"
-Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb, 2021
Serena Narisawa
Program Coordinator
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
January is National Mentoring Month!
The Garage strongly believes in internships and mentoring. We partner with both ACT (Academy for Community Transition) and Gibson Ek High School to provide mentorships for students.
The ACT program "is designed to assist students with developmental disabilities move towards the most independent lifestyle possible." Their program "provides community-based employment experience, with focus on social skills and the development of real world vocational skills, as well as travel training and recreational opportunities."
At Gibson Ek, "the internship/mentorship program (called LTI) serves as crucial learning for students, allowing them to work with an adult mentor whose career matches or touches on their potential interests and aspirations."
If you are interested in becoming a mentor, check out more information here:
Tiana Parry
Program Manager
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
The ACT program "is designed to assist students with developmental disabilities move towards the most independent lifestyle possible." Their program "provides community-based employment experience, with focus on social skills and the development of real world vocational skills, as well as travel training and recreational opportunities."
At Gibson Ek, "the internship/mentorship program (called LTI) serves as crucial learning for students, allowing them to work with an adult mentor whose career matches or touches on their potential interests and aspirations."
If you are interested in becoming a mentor, check out more information here:
- https://www.isd411.org/programs-services/special-education/special-education-programs/families/special-education/special-education-programs/academy-for-community-transition
- https://gibsonek.isd411.org/our-school/internships-mentorships
Tiana Parry
Program Manager
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
December is the Time for Giving!
The Garage just celebrated its four-year anniversary! It’s hard to believe we have been serving teens for that long. Over the past four years we have:
Our licensed counselor is available to meet with teens who are struggling with mental health challenges or simply need someone to talk to. And our case manager provides support to teens experiencing insecure housing by developing individualized, strengths-based, teen-driven
service plans that address their individual needs. This is where you come in! A gift to the Garage is an investment in our teens and goes to work straight-away to ensure our teens are thriving. Make a gift today – we can’t do this without you!
Wishing you and yours a happy holiday!
KayLee Jaech
Executive Director
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
- Had more than 27,000 visits
- Served more than 2,100 teens
- Currently serve 80 – 150 teens a day
- Hired a Case Manager
- AND all services and resources are FREE!
Our licensed counselor is available to meet with teens who are struggling with mental health challenges or simply need someone to talk to. And our case manager provides support to teens experiencing insecure housing by developing individualized, strengths-based, teen-driven
service plans that address their individual needs. This is where you come in! A gift to the Garage is an investment in our teens and goes to work straight-away to ensure our teens are thriving. Make a gift today – we can’t do this without you!
Wishing you and yours a happy holiday!
KayLee Jaech
Executive Director
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
November is Native American Heritage Month!
We at the Garage would like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past, present, and emerging and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.
Land Acknowledgments are a traditional practice dating back centuries to many Native nations and communities. At the Garage, we believe it is incredibly important to recognize the Indigenous peoples who steward this land.
The Duwamish Tribe's Federal recognition was revoked in 2002 and their case has been pending in the Interior Board of Indian Appeals since 2015. To support The First Peoples of Seattle, the dxʷdəwʔabš, please visit the following websites:
https://www.duwamishtribe.org/
https://www.standwiththeduwamish.org/
https://www.realrentduwamish.org/
Brenna Moore
Program Coordinator
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
Land Acknowledgments are a traditional practice dating back centuries to many Native nations and communities. At the Garage, we believe it is incredibly important to recognize the Indigenous peoples who steward this land.
The Duwamish Tribe's Federal recognition was revoked in 2002 and their case has been pending in the Interior Board of Indian Appeals since 2015. To support The First Peoples of Seattle, the dxʷdəwʔabš, please visit the following websites:
https://www.duwamishtribe.org/
https://www.standwiththeduwamish.org/
https://www.realrentduwamish.org/
Brenna Moore
Program Coordinator
The Garage, a Teen Cafe
October is Substance Use Prevention Month!
In celebration of national substance use prevention month, I think it’s vital to first note that substance use prevention and mental health promotion are among the most robust and cost-effective community-based interventions we can support. Providing young people, the education, support, and skill sets to make consistently healthy decisions as they develop, provides us the best long-term outcomes.
Prevention often revolves around the ideas of risk and support. Simply Stated, the more support we can provide and risk factors we can eliminate, the safer teens are.
Parents and caregivers are on the front lines of support when it comes to substance use prevention. Talking to our youth to generate control and agency over their future.
For more information regarding prevention, risk, and preventive factors, visit:
https://nida.nih.gov/publications/preventing-drug-use-among-children-adolescents/chapter-1-risk-factors-protective-factors/what-are-risk-factors
Jerry Blackburn, M.Ed., SUDP
Program Director
Empower Youth Network
https://empoweryouthnetwork.org/
Prevention often revolves around the ideas of risk and support. Simply Stated, the more support we can provide and risk factors we can eliminate, the safer teens are.
Parents and caregivers are on the front lines of support when it comes to substance use prevention. Talking to our youth to generate control and agency over their future.
For more information regarding prevention, risk, and preventive factors, visit:
https://nida.nih.gov/publications/preventing-drug-use-among-children-adolescents/chapter-1-risk-factors-protective-factors/what-are-risk-factors
Jerry Blackburn, M.Ed., SUDP
Program Director
Empower Youth Network
https://empoweryouthnetwork.org/