Coming out in middle school was the topic of the cover story in the New York Times Sunday Magazine on September 27, 2009. The article related stories of young people coming out in middle school or high school in towns across the country, from New England to Oklahoma to California.

"Coming Out in Middle School" - New York Times Sunday Magazine - Sep. 27, 2009

New York City is no different. Students in New York City are also coming out at younger ages than just a few years ago, and schools are struggling to cope. According to one middle-school counselor quoted in the article, "her school was 'totally unprepared' for openly gay students. 'We always knew middle school was a time when kids struggle with their identity... but it was easy to let anti-gay language slide because it's so imbedded in middle-school culture and because we didn't have students who were out to us or their classmates. Now we do, so we're playing catch up to try to keep them safe.'"

That's where PFLAG NYC's Safe Schools Program is helping. PFLAG NYC speakers in the schools share the personal stories of the LGBT people in their own families and their coming out stories. For students in many schools throughout New York City, it's the first opportunity they have for a respectful conversation about what it means to be gay. Learn more about the program, or contact PFLAG NYC for more information about having a Safe Schools Program event in your school or volunteering to become a speaker in the program.

For more on the New York Times article, listen to an NPR interview with some of the people in the article, as well as PFLAG's National Board Chair, John Cepek. The interview aired on "Tell Me More" on September 29.