Lifetime of advocacy propels Jasper Liem to head of Philadelphia LGBTQ youth services center

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Jasper Liem is the executive director of the Attic Youth Center which has been supporting LGBTQ youth in Philadelphia for three decades. Liem’s advocacy though started long before the took the job.

“I kind of joke that I’ve been an advocate for LGBTQ youth since I was one. Still queer just not a youth anymore.”

In the late 90s Liem, whose family has roots in Hong Kong, started a Gender and Sexuality Alliance at his high school in the suburbs after he and others came out.

“It was a big deal back then because this was an era in the 90s - people didn’t believe that gay youth existed at all. Let alone lesbian, bisexual or trans. It just wasn’t in the narrative back then.”

He wanted to change the narrative and make a difference. And he has from his high school days to his time at Haverford College and in his career in social and clinical work.

In 2013, he was asked to join the Attic Youth Center’s Board. He had a few different roles including board President. Now, he’s in charge.

“I wanted to help other youth and young adults and provide that support and safe spaces that I didn’t always have as a young person.”

There’s art therapy and writing workshops. Support groups, life skills training, HIV testing, mental health counseling. And it’s a place where one can find the acceptance they may not have been able to find elsewhere.

“A space where youth can be themselves, can talk about what they’re going through and be met with an adult peer who are staff here who have gone through it or are able to help navigate or help connect young folks to the supports they might need to get through it, that’s life saving.”

📷: The Attic Youth Center