Monday, April 6, 2009

No Longer Alone: A Resource Manual for Rural Sexual Minority Youth and the Adults Who Serve Them

This excellent manual was written by openly gay high school math teacher and advisor at the Boston Community Leadership Academy and made available by the National Youth Advocacy Coalition.

Here's the Introduction:

Sexual minority youth live in virtually every city, town and village in the nation. Nearly every school serves gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) children and every teacher guides and instructs them. While some underlying assumptions about sexuality and gender are implicit in these assertions, these statements indeed reflect the reality that thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people spend their childhoods, and often adulthoods, in rural communities. The 2000 Census reveals that same-sex couples live in over 99% of United States counties. Gay and lesbian people are not alone in rural communities. This being the case, it is peculiar that the vast majority of programs for GLBT young people are in metropolitan areas. While all gay and lesbian students face tremendous challenges, rural students go noticeably underserved. The purpose of this resource manual is to assist concerned adults in creating safe environments for rural gay youth.

Download the complete manual HERE

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