In the heart of Iowa’s capital, a vibrant and vital space has been serving LGBTQ+ youth with compassion, courage, and community since 2022. We’re proud to welcome you to the Des Moines Queer Youth Resource Center — a haven for queer youth to connect, grow, and thrive.
Founded in response to a deep and growing need for affirming spaces for young LGBTQ+ people, QYRC was built on the belief that every person deserves to feel seen, supported, and celebrated just as they are. From the beginning our mission has been simple but powerful: provide resources, advocacy, and a strong sense of belonging to queer youth in Des Moines and surrounding areas.
Founded in response to a deep and growing need for affirming spaces for young LGBTQ+ people, QYRC was built on the belief that every person deserves to feel seen, supported, and celebrated just as they are. From the beginning our mission has been simple but powerful: provide resources, advocacy, and a strong sense of belonging to queer youth in Des Moines and surrounding areas.
SUPPORT AND EMPOWERMENT
At the Des Moines Queer Youth Resource Center, we offer a range of services inlacing peer-led groups, art gathering workshops, crisis and mental health referrals. Whether you’re looking for community to lean on, guidance through your gender or sexuality journey, or simply a place to be yourself without judgment — we are here for you.
We collaborate with other local LGBTQ+ organizations, healthcare providers, and advocacy organizations to make sure LGBTQ+ youth have access to affirming care and people who will stand with them in solidarity.
BECOMING A COMMUNITY PILLAR
Since beginning to serve the community in 2022, QYRC’s impact has grown not just through services, but through stories. The laughter of teens at karaoke night, the relief in a parent’s eyes sending their kid off to prom, or the pride in a young person feeling comfortable in their chosen name and pronouns. These moments are the soul of what we do.
Through the highs and lows, we’ve become a vital part of the Des Moines community. This is just not a center, it’s a home. A place where you can feel seen. A place where you can begin again, again, and again, until it feels like you.
NEY IS YOUR OWN
For queer people, our life journeys are often marked by both struggle and strength. Coming out, coming into ourselves, facing rejection or misunderstanding — these are heavy burdens that so many of us carry. But in the midst of all that, there is beauty. There is resilience. And there is profound joy.
Wherever you are on your path — unsure, exhausted, celebrating, healing — know this: it’s okay to start exactly where you are. You don’t need to have all the answers today. There is no one right way to be queer, no timeline to follow. Becoming your true self is not a race. It’s a process of patience, gentleness, and courage. And you don’t have to do it alone.
We are honored to walk beside you.
With love and pride,
The Des Moines Queer Youth Resource Center
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