Young and gay: Support is key

[w8liftinglady]

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110729/LIFE/107290302/-1/ENTERTAIN

Kendra Pereira, a 23-year-old student at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, says she first realized she was attracted to girls 12 years ago. She was raised a Catholic, and her family didn't talk about homosexuality.

But while her mother was upset when Pereira came out at the age of 11, "She never once let anyone say anything negative about me being homosexual. She loves me for me."

Support — from parents, peers and programs — makes a tremendous difference in the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths. Of all the societal changes in the past couple of generations of the gay rights movement, support may be the most significant.

snip

Pereira, who is active in UMass-Dartmouth's Pride Alliance, believes each person's coming-out experience is different. "I think it depends on your family and surroundings," she writes in an email. "Coming out is not always easy for some people, but those individuals need to know that there are people out there who are there for them and understand what they may be going through."

The important thing is to provide a friendly place to go, according to Bethany Toure, adviser for NB-AGLY (New Bedford Alliance for Gay and LesbianYouth), which also serves transgender youth, received seed funds last year from the Boston Alliance for Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Youth.



(the article has some excellent resources for Boston GLBT youth)

[msongs]

1. that support is a one way street in the real world, but usefull just the same nt