LGBTQI+ youth are experiencing an empowering boost, thanks to Safe Schools Desert Cities. The long-time non-profit organization has been assisting LGBTQI+ youth and their allies through unique opportunities for personal growth, education, guidance, advocacy, and resources.
A recent grant from Inland Empire Community Foundation (IECF) through the Walt Whitman Endowment Fund will further help the youth as they consider broader education goals. The fund was established with IECF in 1994 to benefit activities that promote mutual tolerance and respect between the community at large and the gay and lesbian communities.
Eric J. Ornelas, President of Safe Schools Desert Cities, said the grant will go into the nonprofit’s scholarship program, offering students unique financial opportunities.
“The grant is a great benefit to us because it’s not just a one-time thing,” Ornelas said. “It arrives every year and helps us with planning. We can count on it, which helps our scholarship program.”
The program stands out, in fact, for how well it provides a financial lifeline for LGBTQI+ youth in the region.
“And it’s not just because of the financial help,” Ornelas added of the program. “It’s the affirmation of who they are, and that helps boost their confidence.”
To be sure, the financial part of the program is appreciated, too. With college costs continually rising, financial aid lightens the burden. About 20 scholarships are offered here, including the Financial Assistance Award, which can be requested throughout the school year.
There’s also the Burton/May Pride Award, which is administered by IECF from selections made by Safe Schools Desert Cities. The Pride award provides support for educational expenses for enrollment in an educational program following a student’s graduation from high school, vocational school, or training program, community college, or another university.
“LGBTQI+ youth in our community have additional challenges that the general student body does not have,” Ornelas said. “We step in and offer these students support. One example is by supporting gay/straight alliance clubs that exist within the schools, offering them resources.”
The nonprofit also produces events like Pride Prom, which unfolded on May 15.
“We also have the Rainbow Youth Summit,” Ornelas added. “And a couple hundred students came to the Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast [on May 14], which isn’t produced by Safe Schools, but we are one of the beneficiaries, and we arrange to have students from across the Valley attend that event, which is huge because there’s well over a thousand people there.”
This includes the general public and a variety of Valley leaders—from elected leaders and business owners to non-profit peers.
Ornelas has been with the organization for more than 10 years, initially coming on as a volunteer.
“I actually started as a DJ,” he said, noting how the organization needed a DJ to work its first Pride Prom at the time. He joined the board in 2017 and became president in 2020.
The non-profit’s website is extensive, offering a valuable list of resources and updates on events and other opportunities for youth.
One of them is the 2026 Safe Schools Leadership & Empowerment Camp, which runs June 11-14 at a camp in the San Bernardino Mountains within hiking distance of Jenks Lake. The event is free, runs four nights, and offers a significant intention: it’s designed for high school students to strengthen leadership skills, boost confidence and resilience, and offer a community space in a supportive and inclusive environment.
Activities can include everything from hiking, swimming, and archery to canoeing, a talent show, and daily campfires.
“Events like that allow these students to recognise that they are not alone, that they have a community that is there to support them,” Ornelas said. “And that’s super important during this time when they get a lot of messages that are not particularly positive. In fact, those messages can be extremely negative.
“We help communicate that and to remind youth that there’s nothing wrong with them,” he added, “and that they are perfectly worthy. We help encourage and support them so that they can become successful leaders in their own right.”
Learn more at safeschoolsdc.org.
This story originally appeared in the Desert Sun, 2026.
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