24-Hour Anti-Violence Bilingual Crisis Line
iTEAM
iTEAM (Treatment Empowerment for Adolescents on the Move) is designed to provide culturally responsive services to youth ages 15 to 23, who identify with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and straight ally (LGBTQA) communities. iTEAM is a collaboration of CODAC Behavioral Health Services, Open Inn, Our Family Services, Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation (SAAF), the University of Arizona, and Wingspan at the Eon “Lounge” Youth Center. As the main project site, Eon’s drop-in center offers a safe and substance-free “one-stop shop” for LGBTQA youth to access the comprehensive services available to them through the iTEAM project.
Being Part of the iTEAM project…
- Can help you secure stable housing.
- Provides youth with a safe space.
- Provides academic and employment support.
- Positive social activities and events.
- Allows you to see a licensed therapist at no charge.
- Gives you information to make healthy choices in all areas of your life.
- Connects you into a service and referral system with great local agencies.
- Gives you access to free HIV testing and counseling.
- Allows you to participate in an anonymous, confidential study designed to examine changes after six months. You will receive incentives for your participation in the study.
For more information regarding iTEAM, please contact the Eon Youth Lounge at eonyouth@wingspan.org.
Meet the iTEAM Staff
Ian Ellasante
Program Coordinator
iellasante@wingspan.org
Ian, iTEAM Program Coordinator, has been a member of the Wingspan team since February 2008. Having served the Eon Youth Program in multiple capacities during this time, his current responsibilities include the coordination of the comprehensive network of care for LGBTQQIA youth provided by the federally funded iTEAM project, a collaboration of six agencies. In Ian’s hometown of Memphis,Tennessee, he attended the University of Memphis, graduating in 2005 with English and Sociology majors and Spanish and Biology minors. He is currently completing a M.A. degree at the University of Arizona. Ian is a poet, artist, blues devotee, and the Official Favorite Person of his two dogs, Flower and Bean.
Zami Tinashe Hyemingway
Youth Programs Coordinator
zhyemingway@wingspan.org
Born and raised in Southern California, as his mother’s youngest daughter, Zami Tinahse Hyemingway is a University of Arizona Alumni, graduating in spring 2009 with a Bachelors of Art in Africana Studies and minor in Pre-Law. While at the UA, Zami was involved in the Associated Students of the University of Arizona’s (ASUA) Pride Alliance as an executive board member, as well as holding the position of Director for two years. Zami is currently the Youth Programs Coordinator for the Eon Youth Lounge, a drop-in center for LGBTQ and straight allied youth ages 13-23. Zami also coordinates the Arizona GSA Network, for the National Association of GSA Networks, and sat on their Steering Committee from September 2011-October 2012. Zami is also a Spoken Word artists, who has performed around the United States including Arizona, California, Kentucky, Washington, D.C. and New York. Zami sees his work as an opportunity to share and develop his passion for educating people about intersecting oppressions within communities of color and the LGBTQ community, and how issues of race, gender, religion and sexuality are all intertwined and thus require people to consider identity and social injustices in multi-layered and nuanced ways.
Kevin Jackson
Homeless Youth Project Coordinator
kjackson@wingspan.org
Kevin Jackson, a native Tucsonan, is Eon Youth Center’s Homeless Youth Project Coordinator and has been a staff member at Wingspan for 3 years. Kevin has been working with homeless, runaway, and street-dependent youth for over 17 years and has developed accredited, best-practice street outreach, shelter, and transitional housing programs for youth and young adults in our community. Kevin serves as one of the co-chairs of the Homeless Youth Committee for Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness and as a co-chair and Southern Arizona Representative of the statewide Arizona Committee on Youth Homelessness. In addition to his passions for the providing support and advocacy to our younger LGBT brothers and sisters he is an avid music fan, enjoys multi-cultural cuisines, bears (the two-legged, queer variety), camping, and spending time with Steven Finch, his husband of 17 years and their two (adorable little) dogs Qytti Chiricahua and Shush Yazzie.
Jai Smith
Sexual Health Educator
Jai Smith is a recent graduate from the University of Arizona receiving his degree in Sociology with a minor in Social Justice and Gender Concepts. He was the director for the student run organization ASUA Pride Alliance for two years and worked with the feminist organization the Women’s Resource Center for a year. He grew up in Tucson and was an Eon youth and heavily involved in his high school Gay Straight Alliance. Jai is excited to be working in Eon now as the iTEAM/ALLY Health Education Specialist and the opportunity to give back to the community that helped him when he was younger. He’s super friendly, so come by and say hi!
Joe Nutini
CODAC iTEAM Therapist
Joe is employed by CODAC as EON’s therapist. Born and raised in Chicago, Joe moved with his family to Tucson in 2001. He immediately enrolled in the UofA where he received a BA in Women’s Studies. After working at SAAF for a year as a health educator he began pursing his MSW at ASU. He has since worked in the mental health field with families and youth in a variety of settings. In 2010 he went to healing arts school in Tempe where he studied hypnotherapy, reiki and spiritual studies. Joe has been involved with EON for 10 years as a participant, volunteer, intern and now employee. He recently wrote a book on spirituality, sexuality and gender which he hopes to see published in the next year.
Chandy Leverance
iTEAM Case Manager
Chandy is an employee of Open Inn, a transitional living program located here in Tucson, Arizona. Through iTEAM Chandy provides support services to youth through outreach, assessment and case management as well as providing access to transitional living programs, life skills training and behavioral health services.
For more information on Open Inn, please visit their website at www.openinn.org.
Kathy Herzog
iTEAM Case Manager
Kathy is an employee of Our Family Services, a transitional living program located here in Tucson, Arizona. Through iTEAM Kathy provides basic needs assesments and case management as well as provides access to transitional living programs, life skills training and behavioral health services.
For more information on Our Family Services, please visit their website at www.ourfamilyservices.org.
