WEST Belfast People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll has written to the Education Authority about the potential closure of regional youth services for LGBTQI+ young people.
It comes after a meeting with LGBTQ organisation Cara-Friend about cuts proposed by the Education Authority.
The organisation provides a number of support and advice services for the LGBTQ community.
Cara-Friend had received funding from the Education Authority to run more than 20 LGBTQ youth groups across the North, deliver LGBTQ training for youth workers and offer one-to-one support sessions for young people.
Cara Friend also runs an LGBTQ-inclusive schools programme, which provides advice for teachers and anti-bullying workshops.
Many of those services were funded by the Education Authority until September 2022.
With further cuts on the line, Cara-Friend has raised concerns about the Education Authority's support for LBBTQ people in the North.
Speaking after the meeting, Gerry Carroll MLA said: “Cara-Friend are raising the alarm about the potential closure of their regional youth services,” he said.
“Education Authority cuts will affect the entire youth sector, but will have a disproportionate impact on LGBTQI+ young people and others in marginalised communities.
“These cuts pose a direct threat to youth workers’ jobs and to thousands of vulnerable young people who rely on Cara-Friend's LGBTQI+ specific support services.
“Youth providers have already mobilised in protest against these cuts and they need public support.
“The Education Authority must fund these services and fulfil its equality obligations to the LGBTQI+ community.”
