Colors+ is a Cleveland-area LGBT youth center that provides programming and mental health services for LGBT youth. In addition, Colors+ provides programming for the parents of LGBT youth on how to raise LGBT children. ¹

The organization hosts “drag storytime hour” events with drag queens for children. ²

Background and Activities

Colors+ was founded in 2018 ³ by “Kameron” and “Lennon,” two clinical counselors. ⁴ Both do not list their last name on the Colors+ website. ⁵

In September 2023, the Colors+ building in Fairview Park, Ohio was vandalized by a man who painted racial slurs on the building’s windows. ⁶ In an interview with journalists, Kameron stated that incident “marked the arrival of a national surge in anti-LGBTQ+ violence” at their “doorstep,” and refused to provide a last name for security reasons. ⁷

In prior reporting on Colors+, the founders of the organization were said to be Kristen and Lisa Pepera, two clinical counselors who are married. ⁸

In collaboration with Drag Queen Story Hour Cleveland, Colors+ provides both general drag story hour programming, ⁹ and “drag tutorials,” in which adults teach youth the “fundamentals of drag.” ¹⁰ The group claims that through the events “Youth are able to creatively express themselves in a safe, affirming, and age-appropriate way.” ¹¹

Finances

In 2019, Colors+ received $79,925 in contributions, ¹² made $44,198 in expenditures, ¹³ and held $45,715 in net assets. ¹⁴

In 2021, Colors+ received a two-year $134,000 grant for operating expenses and capacity building from the Three Arches Foundation. ¹⁵ The grant allowed the organization to secure a three-year lease on a 3,500 square foot property. ¹⁶

Colors+ receives funding from the Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services (ADAMHS)

Board of Cuyahoga County, Ohio. ¹⁷ Colors+ claims this funding is limited to mental health counseling for LGBT individuals who are 18 years or older. ¹⁸

1. “Parent Connection Support Groups.” Colors+. https://www.colorsplus.org/parent-connection-support-groups
2. Comeriato, H.L.  “‘We’re not going anywhere’: A targeted Ohio LGBTQ+ center fights back against racist, anti-LGBTQ+ violence.” The Buckeye Flame. September 21, 2023. Accessed October 19, 2023. https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2023/09/21/colors-youth-center-fights-back/
3. “COLORS+ Youth Center Youth Center.” Centerlink. https://www.lgbtqcenters.org/LGBTCenters/Center/6904/COLORS-Youth-Center
4. “About Us.” Colors+. https://www.colorsplus.org/about-us
5. About Us.” Colors+. https://www.colorsplus.org/about-us
6. Comeriato, H.L.  “‘We’re not going anywhere’: A targeted Ohio LGBTQ+ center fights back against racist, anti-LGBTQ+ violence.” The Buckeye Flame. September 21, 2023. Accessed October 19, 2023. https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2023/09/21/colors-youth-center-fights-back/
7. Comeriato, H.L.  “‘We’re not going anywhere’: A targeted Ohio LGBTQ+ center fights back against racist, anti-LGBTQ+ violence.” The Buckeye Flame. September 21, 2023. Accessed October 19, 2023. https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2023/09/21/colors-youth-center-fights-back/
8. “Colors+ Youth Center offers a safe haven for LGBTQ+ kids, under attack by Ohio’s proposed ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law: Leslie Kouba.” Cleveland.com. April 20, 2022. Accessed October 19, 2023. https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2022/04/colors-youth-center-offers-a-safe-haven-for-lgbtq-kids-under-attack-by-ohios-proposed-dont-say-gay-law-leslie-kouba.html
9. “Drag Storytime.” Colors+. https://www.colorsplus.org/drag-storytime
10. “Drag Tutorials.” Colors+. https://www.colorsplus.org/drag-tutorials
11. “Drag Tutorials.” Colors+. https://www.colorsplus.org/drag-tutorials
12. Colors+. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2019. Part I. Line 1.
13. Colors+. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2019. Part I. Line 17.
14. Colors+. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2019. Part I. Line 21.
15. “Colors+ Youth Center offers a safe haven for LGBTQ+ kids, under attack by Ohio’s proposed ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law: Leslie Kouba.” Cleveland.com. April 20, 2022. Accessed October 19, 2023. https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2022/04/colors-youth-center-offers-a-safe-haven-for-lgbtq-kids-under-attack-by-ohios-proposed-dont-say-gay-law-leslie-kouba.html
16. “Colors+ Youth Center offers a safe haven for LGBTQ+ kids, under attack by Ohio’s proposed ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law: Leslie Kouba.” Cleveland.com. April 20, 2022. Accessed October 19, 2023. https://www.cleveland.com/opinion/2022/04/colors-youth-center-offers-a-safe-haven-for-lgbtq-kids-under-attack-by-ohios-proposed-dont-say-gay-law-leslie-kouba.html
17. “18+ LGBTQ+ Community Empowerment Group​.” Colors+. https://www.colorsplus.org/lgbtq-community-empowerment-group
18. “18+ LGBTQ+ Community Empowerment Group​.” Colors+. https://www.colorsplus.org/lgbtq-community-empowerment-group