Out Spotlight

This is a different kind Out Spotlight

After a week of such tragedy and loss, there are people from all walks of life all over the world who are stepping up and stepping out to share. Some are well known, others unknown, some young, some old. They are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, and straight and they all want to say three simple words - It Get's Better.

Author, advocate, pundit, journalist, husband, father, out and proud man Dan Savage writes an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column. He has been read, followed, watched and listened to by millions.

Dan wrote a column about Billy Lucas, a boy who took his own life, because he couldn't take the bullying anymore, and Dan just wanted to tell Billy it gets better.

"Billy Lucas was just 15 when he hanged himself in a barn on his grandmother's property. He reportedly endured intense bullying at the hands of his classmates—classmates who called him a fag and told him to kill himself. His mother found his body.... I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better.

"But gay adults aren't allowed to talk to these kids. Schools and churches don't bring us in to talk to teenagers who are being bullied. Many of these kids have homophobic parents who believe that they can prevent their gay children from growing up to be gay—or from ever coming out—by depriving them of information, resources, and positive role models.

Dan wanted to find a way to reach kids who were struggling with coming into their sexuality and the pressure and bullying that so many face.

"Why are we waiting for permission to talk to these kids? We have the ability to talk directly to them right now. We don't have to wait for permission to let them know that it gets better. We can reach these kids."

So he did something. He and his husband made a short video about their lives. They shared the harassment they endured in school and talked about the full and rewarding lives they have now, so that kids could see it gets better and they put it up on YouTube. Then they invited other LGBT adults to make and upload videos about their lives.

The response of that one simple thing? Overwhelming.

Now the It Gets Better Project has thousands of members, the videos have been viewed hundreds of thousands times, and more videos continue to come from all over the world sharing their stories. And it's not just adults, there are teenagers who are speaking to their peers too.

It's giving those 5 minutes that Dan wrote about to let those bullied and isolated and unhappy and feeling there is no hope, know that it does get better.




And here are some who have shared.











One life lost is one too many. One simple thing can change a life.




It Gets Better Project

Driftwood
Driftwood documents "true stories by gay people all over.

The Trevor Project

Matthew's Place

GLSEN Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network

Pacer Center National Center for Bullying Prevention

Make It Better