NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) \u2014 Pride celebrations continued across New York City on Saturday as hundreds gathered at Pier 16 at the South Street Seaport for the annual Youth Pride celebration, an event centered on creating safe spaces and support systems for LGBTQ+ youth and their families.<\/p>\n
Now in its ninth year, the carnival-style event has become a staple of Pride Month festivities in the city, bringing together younger members of the LGBTQ+ community for a day focused on inclusion, advocacy and connection.<\/p>\n
Stay connected with community stories that matter: Visit our homepage <\/a><\/p>\n Organizers say the goal is to ensure young people not only have a place to celebrate who they are, but also access resources that can help support them year-round. \u201cWe are so excited to be here and provide the youth with this space,\u201d said Michele Irimia, co-chair of NYC Pride. \u201cIn New York City, youth is considered 13 to 24, so any child can come in here with their family, celebrate, and learn about any services they may need.\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout the day, visitors had access to a variety of services ranging from health care and mental health resources to beauty tutorials and community-based support organizations.<\/p>\n More Local News <\/a><\/p>\n Advocates say events like Youth Pride have become increasingly important as families nationwide face growing uncertainty surrounding access to LGBTQ+ services and protections, particularly for transgender youth.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time that we hear from families about services being cut, gender-affirming care being denied, families feel like they\u2019re losing the resource and support that they need,\u201d said Elmer Flores with New Pride Agenda. \u201cSo, we\u2019re here, all of us, all of our organizations, support organizations, because we need to show up for those families.\u201d<\/p>\n