GAY YOUTH CAMP IT UP

It’s the place we all secretly wished our parents would have shipped us off to as kids - a gay summer camp! Well, it’s happening now for kids in Kentucky, thanks to the efforts of the Louisville Youth Group (LYG). On Friday, September 7th, LYG will pack up a group of local LGBTQ teens to set up camp in several rented cabins at Otter Creek State Park for its 10th annual LYG Camp weekend.

LYG Camp is a program for individuals already involved in the Louisville Youth Group, mostly including youth from ages 14-20; although the group has seen kids as young as 10 years of age. This year, and for the first time, LYG is inviting youth from Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Lexington to join them. Activities for the weekend are unstructured but constantly and closely supervised by adult mentors. Once they arrive, the youth will decide and plan the weekend’s events themselves which could include hiking, campfires, movies, outdoor sports and board games – typical summer camp activities.

Tony Wolfe, LYG’s adult mentor coordinator, says there’s nothing like LYG Camp anywhere in this part of the country. "It provides youth with the opportunity to get away and just BE. They know they’re going to have some one-on-one time with a mentor if they need to talk about something. They know they’re going to have one-on-one time with another youth if they want to talk about something."

LYG covers all expenses for the youth to attend the weekend. LYG’s board raises the money through private donations, grants, and fundraisers like the "Gourmet Picnic" bash hosted by Christopher Miller and Bill Stanley on June 23rd. LYG Board President Erica Bindner-Wooten says she would like to see LYG Camp grow and eventually become a fundraiser for LYG rather than an event that LYG needs to raise funds to support. LYG Camp typically includes less than a dozen kids. This year there could be a larger turnout, depending on the participation levels from the other cities invited.

LYG is a community organization that supports LGBTQ youth by providing a safe social atmosphere and encouraging them towards their full potential. Len Back from New Albany is one youth that walked through the doors of LYG’s weekly Friday night meetings in 2002. He was only 13 years old.

"I had recently come out of the closet and my dad was somewhat homophobic," Back says. "At first I was a little overwhelmed. There were so many diverse people at LYG. I had no exposure to transgender people or the gay community at all. I had no idea how to make heads or tails out of any of it. But at the same time everyone was really welcoming and non-judgmental."

Back is now 18 and preparing for college. He is an LYG youth leader, plans meetings, and talks to other youth about LYG. He also started the Gay Straight Alliance at his high school. "Before I went to LYG I was really shy. I just couldn’t talk to people," he says. "LYG got me to a place where I could be more comfortable with myself."

Back says LYG Camp helped him open up about his personal issues. "At LYG things are very structured. At LYG Camp you just felt more at ease to share things that you couldn’t at the meetings," he says. Bindner-Wooten says she’s seen her share of kids, like Back, walk into LYG as troubled teens and walk out as mature confident adults. "Just watching them find their voices and being able to talk about the issues and develop these leadership skills is so amazing and inspiring," she says.

"There was nothing at all like this for me when I was a youth," says Wolfe. "These kids walk into camp with a smile because they know what they’re about to experience. They walk out with a smile because they’ve made new friends, they’ve met new people, and they know we’re still going to be there."

LGBTQ kids like Len Back say that they need to know Louisville Youth Group is there for them. "Being able to attend groups like LYG gives you that sense of support and community so you don’t feel like a black sheep because you’re going through an experience nobody in your family has any clue about," he says.

Back says LYG has become like family to him, and LYG Camp is a way to get to know some of those family members on a deeper level. "It was pretty cool," he says. "It helps you understand people better. It’s definitely an experience you won’t forget."

 By Chip Alfred

chip@g3illustrated.com