TAFFY to start youth group in Fort St. John

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Trans Alliance Friends Family and Youth Society (TAFFY) is starting a youth group in Fort St. John. 

The Rainbow Folk Youth Group is in partnership with Bizzybody Enterprises and is open to transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming, and LGBTQIA+ youth and allies between the ages of 12 and 18. 

President of TAFFY, and volunteer peer counsellor, Paige Turrtel said the group aims to allow the youth in the group a safe place to socialize and speak with peer counsellors. 

Turrtel said the society has been planning the new youth group for a while. 

“We’ve been having it in the works for the last 4 or 5 months or so,” Turrtel said. 

The new group has already had a handful of youth register. Due to the high turnout of TAFFY’s recent coffee night, Turrtel said they are hopeful the new group will be a success. 

In terms of future events and activities, Turrtel said they want to evaluate and see what the youth are interested in before they commit to anything. 

“We do have ideas to start introducing D&D or different things, but we want to gauge what the group is into before we really make any solid investments or plans,” Turrtel explained. 

The Rainbow Folk Youth Group’s first couple of meetings will be held on February 25th and March 11th from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Bizzy Body, 10511 100th Avenue. 

Registration for the event is encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome. The society is asking that participants keep the space open, safe, and youth-oriented.

For more information or to register for the group, contact TAFFY through Facebook.