BY KEELIN EVERLY-LANG for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 9/25/2026
Whether LGBTQ+ young adults in Tacoma and Pierce County are looking for leadership opportunities or are having trouble accessing housing, food, gender-affirming care, or other urgent needs, there are a variety of programs offering support.
True Color Collective (TCC) is one of the more recent additions to this support ecosystem in Tacoma.
The collective hosts a monthly LGBTQ+ group on the last Thursday of each month from 5 to 7 p.m. at the REACH Center located at Tacoma Community House. The focus of the group is on “friends, food and fun” and also acts as a starting point for accessing help when needed.
The REACH Center provides a variety of programming and resources for youth and young adults in the community, including TCC.
LEAD | LGBTQ+ Pride Peer Outreach Specialist Devin Williams (he/him) and Data Coordinator Ozzy Miller (they/them) sat down with Weekly Volcano to share more about community needs and the origins of the program.
“We wanted to make this like an open group for anybody that identifies as LGBTQ, BIPOC to be a part of, so that you don’t get left out or fall through the cracks just because of your age, your identity, and other program restrictions,” Williams said.
The entire program is built around providing access to community and support with no barriers. For example, while it focuses on a specific age range from 18 to 24, participants aren’t asked their age before entering the space.
“As it is, there are a lot of barriers for LGBTQ and BIPOC young people, especially when it comes to resources and finding safe spaces to just even exist in. So we created that space . . . it takes connection with your queer community outside and in your own circle to make these kinds of things happen,” Williams said.
At the monthly meetups, programming is shaped by the needs and wants of the group. One week might consist of free-flowing open conversations about their personal experiences; other months could include a dance party.
Building community and finding friendships is something everyone can relate to, and there are also challenges facing attendees that are specific to their LGBTQ+ identity. Access to gender-affirming care and dealing with housing instability due to rejection by family can add pressures to young adults in our community.
While resources do exist, accessing and navigating these systems can feel impossible, especially when unique circumstances make people ineligible for the very programs that are supposed to help them.
As one example, Miller shared a story of facing the decision of either staying in a domestic violence situation or entering homelessness. Trying to avoid the latter, they reached out for support, only to be told they weren’t eligible because they were not yet actually on the street.
Housing access is a big focus, and Williams’s role is actually funded under the state Office of Homeless Youth specifically to support LGBTQ+ youth.
Two other resources in Tacoma have been around for decades and also provide resources and programs to LGBTQ+ youth and young adults.
The Rainbow Center describes itself as “a community-driven organization dedicated to supporting LGBTQIA2S+ and queer people in Tacoma and Pierce County through services, advocacy, education, and celebration.”
Oasis is located inside the Rainbow Center and focuses specifically on programs for LGBTQ+ youth. It shares on its website that it empowers “youth by providing a safe space for them to gather outside of school hours, offering support from adult role models and mentors, activities with peers and opportunities for personal growth, access to education, information, resources, and support necessary for making meaningful and healthy life choices and developing leadership skills to thrive in their communities.”
Leadership Resources
There are also a variety of ways to get involved in making change while developing leadership skills and experience.
At Oasis, the Youth Council and Queer Leaders are two programs that provide similar opportunities for guiding programming, sharing input, and developing leadership skills.
There are also opportunities to get involved on a broader level through the Youth Advisory Council, which is a program within the Washington State LGBTQ Commission that aims to increase youth representation and input on issues impacting them.
Current needs
While it’s hard to drive through Tacoma without seeing at least one rainbow flag, homophobia and transphobia exist here too and have serious impacts in our community.
One of those impacts is that unaccepting families are the number one cause of homelessness for LGBTQ+ youth in the Tacoma area, according to data collected by TCC.
Back in 2018, one study by Chapin Hall found that “LGBTQ youth are at more than double the risk of homelessness compared to non-LGBTQ peers” in Washington state.
The community has also faced increased challenges from anti-LGBTQ legislation across the country, pushing people to flee to regions with more resources and protection like Washington state.
While these challenges are real and causing a lot of harm, it is also a time when new programs and community efforts are stepping forward to take care of each other.
Williams encouraged anyone interested in partnering with TCC or anyone who needs to be connected to resources to reach out to him directly at dwilliams@reachtacoma.org or stop by the REACH Center.
TCC will also be hosting its own pride festivities again this year. Mark your calendars for 2 to 6 p.m. on July 18, 2027 at 1314 S L Street in Tacoma.
