PRIDE GUIDE 1998 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

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New organization is giving youth a ray of hope

by Nick Corne

Toledo According to a report published a few weeks ago in the journal Pediatrics, gay and lesbian teens are more likely to start experimenting with sex and drugs at an earlier age, three times more likely to attempt suicide, and five times more likely to be absent from school because of fear for their safety.

There is a new organization is looking to combat these statistics in the Toledo area. Rainbow Area Youth Toledo is the newest social and support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth in Ohio. The group meets weekly and serves youth ages 13-18.

"Our meetings are a place where kids can get together and discuss issues that are on their minds, whatever they be," said RAY president Nick Corne. "It's a place where everyone can be themselves and discuss everything openly and honestly without any of the fear or shame that might be present in other settings."

RAY also offers educational programs on such topics such as HIV, drugs, and alcohol. "These are issues that everyone faces, and

"The web page was crucial to getting the word out to the youth. They are much more likely to be out on the Internet before they fully come out."

RAY's web page offers two message boards. Public message boards that allows guests and visitors to post and another "Clubhouse" area which is a private area that contains message boards and eventually chat

rooms.

"Some of these kids aren't out to anyone, and to make sure they're not outed, it was important to make sure the members had an area where, like the meetings, they can continue to talk openly," Ziemke added.

Youth are provided passwords and screen names of their choice at the weekly meetings.

The youth group idea is nothing new to Toledo, though.

"We've had a couple other groups in the area," said Spurlin. "For whatever reasons they just didn't stick around. RAY is different because we've got a core group of four very

dedicated board members and other volunteers who are serious in making this group a success for the kids."

"It took us a little over a year to get the organization to a point where we could start holding meetings," Spurlin said. "We visited the Kaleidoscope Youth Coalition and Phoenix Pride in Columbus as well as contacted many groups across the U.S. That doesn't mean there's still not plenty to do, but the results this far have been tremendous."

RAY has relied only on the web page and word of mouth, including referrals from other local organizations, in order to promote the group and the results have been surprising to them.

RAY was also recently granted funding from the John Domrose Foundation of Toledo. "Domrose was very generous to us by pro-

viding us with our first funding, and it's terrific to continue to receive support from a foundation like that."

When asked about future plans for the group, the board would love to see an office in a full community center and a drop in center for the kids.

"Ultimately, I'd like to see Rainbow Area Youths popping up in other cities that don't have youth groups yet,” Ziemke said.

"It's exciting and very rewarding to see some of these kids grow and become comfortable with themselves, and only within a couple of months," Come said. "I really look forward to seeing what the future bring for the group."

Rainbow Area Youth Toledo, Inc. can be found on the web at www.toledoray.org or by phone at 419-327-8686.

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we wanted to make sure our kids were well educated on the topics," said RAY adult volunteer coordinator Brenda Spurlin.

"It has really helped me gain a sense of belonging and has helped me along in truly being who I am," said one youth member who's been attending the meetings since the beginning. "I've become more honest with myself as well as others, in all areas."

"The web page was crucial to getting to word out to the youth," said RAY secretary and web page developer Jim Ziemke. "Studies have shown that youth are much more likely to be out on the Internet before they fully come out, and the web page was important to the board to allow information and discussion."

RAY's web page, while still under construction, will offer educational information, resources, message boards, and a chat room allowing youth to interact.

Ziemke worked very hard to make sure the message boards were operational before the first meeting.

"Our message boards were very important in the sense that we wanted an extension of the weekly meetings," he said. "We wanted kids to be able to take topic discussed at the meetings and continue those discussions on the web page. We also wanted a safe place online for kids to talk."

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