It’s National Coming Out Day
Courtesy of MTV
In honor of National Coming Out Day, Equalize Youth has launched its global support network – “Out Your Story.” The project combines key components from sites like Google Maps, Reddit and Craigslist – and uses mapping to organize original content submitted from people around the country. Not only does “Out Your Story” empower youth with great information about what it means to be LGBT, it enables young people to connect with all sorts of smart, empowering content, like stories, reflections and coping mechanisms submitted by folks who have been through their own coming out experiences.
Starting today, adults are being asked to share their stories about coming out, sexual orientation and gender identity. Google Maps will help show where the stories come from – with links to cities, towns, high schools and camps. To search stories, users simply have to type in a zip code to find a map filled with nearby support.
“Out Your Story is an easy, personal and uncompromising way for everyone to help LGBT youth,” says Derek Gerson, founder and executive director of Equalize Youth. “I believe that everyone wishes there were something easy they could do, and together, we’re making it happen. Our goal is give these individuals an irrefutable low barrier and high impact opportunity to make a difference in the lives of LGBT youth.”
