FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 24, 2019

PRESS CONTACT: Mariam Ahmed, mariam.ahmed@berlinrosen.com, 202-800-8688

Washington D.C. Office of Cable Television Acquires First Season of YouTube Series for LGBTQ Youth

Advocates for Youth and The District of Columbia Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment (OCTFME) have reached an agreement to air season one of Kikis with Louie on public, educational, and government broadcast channels beginning May 23rd   

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In November 2018, Advocates for Youth launched a new YouTube series for LGBTQ youth, Kikis with Louie, in collaboration with the MAC Aids Fund. With only 10 episodes published, the series has over one million views across YouTube and Advocates for Youth’s social channels. Now, the YouTube series will be accessible to even more young people thanks to a partnership between Advocates for Youth and OCTFME that will bring the series to D.C.’s spring/summer broadcast programming.

 

Kikis with Louie aims to normalize difficult and stigmatized conversations about HIV, STIs, healthy relationships, self-image, and other issues young LGBTQ people face every day. Hosted by Louie Ortiz-Fonseca, Director of LGBTQ Health and Rights at Advocates for Youth, the series features honest conversations with LGBTQ youth and the celebrities, athletes, artists, and activists they admire most.

 

“I’m grateful that more young people will have access to inclusive and honest content, including how-to videos on surviving police encounters, using internal condoms, legally changing names and more. We know that young people are asking these questions, but get silence and stigma that only work to foster bullying and discrimination in schools. That’s unacceptable — especially as we see how anti-LGBTQ bullying can be deadly, like in the case of Nigel Shelby. Nigel and all LGBTQ youth deserve to lead safe and healthy lives free of hate, violence, and unanswered questions.” said the series host and Advocates for Youth Director of LGBTQ Health and Rights, Louie A. Ortiz-Fonseca.

 

OFCTME manages the District’s government access channels including: the District Council Channel (DCC), the District of Columbia Network (DCN), the District Knowledge Network (DKN) and DC Radio 96.3HD4.

 

“The purpose of Kikis with Louie is to meet LGBTQ youth of color where they are and intervene with inclusive, factual, and engaging content,” said Lincoln Mondy, series director and Senior Manager of Strategic Projects at Advocates for Youth. “While YouTube has been the central vehicle in that goal, we couldn’t be happier that Kikis with Louie will now reach young people who may not have Internet access, or otherwise would not have come across our resources. We’re grateful that D.C. is supporting LGBTQ youth of color by expanding our reach.”

 

At a time when the Trump Administration is threatening to roll back the rights of LGBTQ individuals and 84% of transgender students report being bullied, Kikis with Louie has already proven to be an effective way to encourage LGBTQ youth of color to have difficult conversations and work to unpack stigma, trauma, and other challenges in their lives. Community screenings and discussions have been held in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, Louisiana, and elsewhere across the country. New Kikis with Louie episodes come out every other Thursday on YouTube until August 29, 2019.