Our Services
What We Do
Rather than encouraging a particular sexual identity, Seacoast Outright aims to foster a positive self-image for all youth. Support groups and social and education activities provide LGBTQ youth with a safe and supportive environment in which to explore questions about their sexuality, learn about making responsible choices, and develop their own strengths and capabilities. Our educational outreach helps our communities and organizations develop their capacity to support and welcome all youth.
Youth Support Group and Social Group Meetings
Seacoast Outright's youth meetings provide a safe place for youth to meet, socialize and provide support for each other in an environment that is free from harassment and discrimination. The meetings are held at the Portsmouth Community Campus. Support groups are always facilitated by two to four trained adult facilitators who provide positive adult role models. Facilitators help the youth establish guidelines to keep their conversations focused and their relationships positive. Social groups are also facilitated by our trained adults.
Groups are for gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans youth, and youth who are questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity. Allies are welcome too. The meetings are for young people under 22 years old. Youth are always welcome to any meeting.
- Support group meetings are held every Friday night from 7-9 pm
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Youth Resources
One of the most important services we provide is the opportunity for our youth to connect with one another. Through peer support youth expand their understanding and develop a positive sense of themselves as leaders in their community. Adult facilitators are also important advocates and role models. Our facilitators stay up to date on the latest information about youth development, health care, and local resources so that they can be an important connection and ally for youth. Seacoast Outright is not a counseling service: We focus on safety, education, and accurate information. We do maintain a list of local mental health professionals (therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists) that we can give to youth for help on issues that are beyond the scope of the youth support meeting. We maintain a free lending library for youth that includes important resources and literature that interest youth.
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Youth Leadership and Development
Our youth experience the opportunity to feel empowered to change their environments in positive ways. We support youth by providing them with information and leadership skills. Youth use these skills to ask for what they need from their schools, families, and communities. Some Seacoast Outright youth go through training to go out and speak in their schools and communities about prejudice and violence prevention. Others get involved in community service projects to help address topics ranging from dating violence to AIDS. Others simply begin to trust their own voices when talking to family and friends.
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Education and Community Outreach
Seacoast Outright works with the people best poised to support youth: those who are in the schools, families, and communities of Seacoast Outright youth. We conduct workshops and educational programs in a variety of settings, with the goal of creating support for gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and questioning youth in the environments where the live. We have facilitated hundreds of such discussions among educators, community members, and parents in Seacoast New Hampshire and southern Maine. Usually, these workshops are an integrated part of a larger curriculum within the environment. These workshops can lead to longer-term commitments from the organizations involved to be more supportive and welcoming of all youth.
Some places we have been involved include: Local high schools, a regional school system's Parent Education Day, a local hospital, and a state-wide conference for helping-service professionals.
For information about how Seacoast Outright can support your organization contact one of our Board Members.