Our Chicago: ABC7's Jason Knowles leads Pride Month discussion with LGBTQ+ youth

CHICAGO (WLS) -- ABC 7, Chicago's No. 1 station for news, is celebrating Pride Month on all of its platforms with the second of two virtual town halls moderated by ABC 7 Chicago's I-Team consumer investigative reporter, Jason Knowles. "OUR CHICAGO: Voices of the Community" will be available on abc7chicago.com Thursday, June 24, at 2:00 p.m.

During this week's edition of "OUR CHICAGO: Voices of the Community," Jason Knowles led an important conversation focusing on LGBTQ+ youth. Community leaders joined Jason to give an overview of the impactful programs addressing the needs of an often vulnerable segment of the population. The forum highlighted how LGBTQ+ youth fared during the pandemic, their perspectives on legislative actions that have a negative impact on their community, the efforts to address the higher rate of homelessness among these youth, as well as explore how victims of anti-gay hate crimes are being helped, among other issues.

In addition, "OUR CHICAGO: Voices of the Community" dug deeper to learn more about how these organization are helping to uplift and empower LGBTQ+ youth while working to ensure their safety. Views on how entertainment/media can help tell LGBTQ + stories in a more authentic way were also shared.

Panelists included the following:

-Stephanie Piccirilli, Ignite

-Luis A. Martinez, Center on Halsted

-August (Gus) Hupp, Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook (YSGN)

-Bonsai Bermudez, Youth Empowerment Performance Project (YEPP)

-Channyn Parker, Howard Brown/Broadway Youth Center

-Tedd Peso, The Night Ministry

The virtual town hall was also exclusively streamed live on ABC 7's Facebook Live, YouTube, ABC 7's app, and ABC 7's connected TV apps on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV and Roku.

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PREVIOUS TOWN HALLS:

Our Chicago: Town hall celebrates Pride Month

Our Chicago: Town hall explores Chicago's diverse Asian communities

Our Chicago: Town hall focuses on mental health support for Black men

Our Chicago: Town hall focuses on mental health issues in children, adolescents

Our Chicago: Town hall addresses hate crimes against AAPI community

Our Chicago: Town hall celebrates Earth Month and efforts by Chicago's local community organizations

Our Chicago: Town hall on keeping Latino youth safe, demands for investment in wake of Adam Toledo shooting

Our Chicago: Town hall on impact of climate change and weather on our environment

Our Chicago: Town hall with Chicago religious leaders addresses trust, safety around COVID-19 vaccines

Our Chicago: Town hall celebrates women entrepreneurs, hosted by Tanja Babich

Our Chicago: Town hall examines city's women in leadership roles amid Women's History Month

Our Chicago: Impact of pandemic recession on working women

Our Chicago: A Conversation About 'Black, Latino Houses Matter' Program

Our Chicago: A Conversation About Vaccine Efforts

Our Chicago: Voices of the Community town hall examines discriminatory effects of redlining

Our Chicago: Voices of the Community town hall on COVID and the vaccine in the Latinx community

Our Chicago: Voices of the Community town hall showcases faith leaders and 'Family Value' anti-violence campaign

Our Chicago: Voices of the Community town hall on blood donations during COVID pandemic hosted by Hosea Sanders

Our Chicago: Voices of the Community town hall on COVID-19 vaccine concerns in communities of color, hosted by Cheryl Burton

Our Chicago: Voices of the Community on Asian American harassment and bystander intervention, moderated by Ravi Baichwal

Our Chicago: Voices of the Community: Significance of Kamala Harris' election to vice president-elect; Cheryl Burton moderates

ABC 7 Chicago hosts digital town hall to recognize Native American Heritage Month; Leah Hope moderates

ABC 7 Chicago hosts digital town hall to explore expectations for office holders after upcoming election

ABC 7 Chicago hosts digital town hall on bullying prevention moderated by Karen Jordan

ABC 7 Chicago presents: Do You Hear Me? A discussion highlighting journey of prominent Latino communities in Chicago hosted by Stacey Baca

ABC 7 Chicago presents: Do You Hear Me? A Conversation about Latinos and the 2020 Census hosted by Rob Elgas

ABC 7 Chicago presents: Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race, a virtual town hall with Windy City Live's Val Warner

ABC 7 Chicago presents: Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race, a virtual town hall with ABC 7's Evelyn Holmes

ABC 7 Chicago presents: Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race on August 13 with ABC 7's Evelyn Holmes

ABC 7 Chicago presents: Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race, a virtual town hall with Windy City Live's Val Warner

Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race on August 6, 2020: Hosted by Samantha Chatman, on mental health in the Black community

Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race on July 23, 2020: Hosted by WCL's Val Warner, on race and education during COVID-19

Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race on July 23, 2020: Hosted by Jim Rose, on race and racism in sports

Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race on July 16, 2020: Hosted by Cheryl Burton, on violence

Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race on July 9, 2020: Hosted by Samantha Chatman, on Black Greek letter organizations

Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race on July 2, 2020: Hosted by Hosea Sanders, on summer festivals

Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race on June 25, 2020: Hostel by Terrell Brown and Leah Hope, on racism in public education

Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race on June 18, 2020: Hosted by Evelyn Holmes and Will Jones,on youth movements

Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race on June 11, 2020: Hosted by Karen Jordan and Hosea Sanders, on organizational social change

Do You Hear Me? A Discussion about Race on June 4, 2020: Hosted by Cheryl Burton, on the aftermath of George Floyd's death

About ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago

ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago is the No. 1 local news source and most-watched television station in Chicago. With top-rated daily newscasts spanning decades and the largest social media presence in the market with more than 2.3 million Facebook followers, ABC7 Eyewitness News provides breaking news, investigative reporting, weather, politics, traffic and sports in the multiplatform space to Chicago, the suburbs and northwest Indiana. Named Best News Operation by the Associated Press for four consecutive years, the station produces 41 hours of local news weekly and Chicago's only local weekday entertainment talk show, "Windy City LIVE," as well as its highest-rated New Year's Eve special. ABC7's award-winning programs such as "Heart and Soul," "The Ñ Beat" and "Asian Influences" showcase the city's diversity, while being the only Chicago station producing and broadcasting parades representing Chicago's rich cultural history. In addition to producing town halls focused on current social issues, the station has a long and proud tradition of broadcasting political candidate debates keeping Chicago's electorate informed. ABC7's outreach efforts include annual partnerships with the Red Cross for life-saving blood drives and, most recently, spearheading an effort to raise more than $1.5 million for area food pantries.