Massachusetts: Governor OKs funding for Gay youth programs

by Wendy Johnson

Years of educating Massachusetts lawmakers about the need for Gay youth support programs paid off recently, when Acting Governor Argeo Paul Cellucci (R) approved an $18.4 billion budget that designates an unprecedented $1 million for Gay youth programs.

The money will be used to fund Gay youth suicide prevention outreach programs and is believed to be the largest amount ever allocated in a state budget for non-HIV related Gay youth programs, according to Rea Carey, director of the the National Youth Advocacy Coalition.

Although the state's fiscal 1998 budget bill was signed July 10, the $1 million allocation did not become public until the governor announced it Aug. 14 in a letter to David LaFontaine, chairperson of the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth.

"My Administration is strongly committed to abolishing the hatred and prejudice which lead to tragic consequences for so many gay and lesbian youths," Cellucci wrote. "We are determined to make our schools safe for all our students and to ensure educational equity for all students."

According to LaFontaine, the money will be funneled through the state's education department and divided among high school and community outreach programs, and, for the first time, among Gay student groups at state colleges and universities.

The funding was allocated through identical amendments sponsored by state Rep. Alice Wolf (D-Cambridge) and 11 colleagues in the House, and state Sen. Stanley Rosenberg (D-Amherst) and 11 colleagues in the Senate, Bay Windows reported.

Such support, said LaFontaine, is the end result of years of "intensive public education" by the commission.

"We've really changed the consciousness of the public through the personal stories Gay and Lesbian students have told to the media and to their representatives," he said.

Former Gov. William Weld, a Republican who resigned July 29 to pursue a nomination as ambassador to Mexico, established the commission five years ago to help implement the education department's Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students. Since then, the commission has helped increase the number of Gay/straight alliances from two to 100 and has steadily increased the amount of state funding for non-HIV-related Gay youth programs. Last year, the state provided $750,000 for such programs, funded mainly through the collection of state tobacco taxes. The $1 million for this year's fiscal budget represents not only an increase but also the first time Gay-related youth funds are part of a separate budget line item.

At least $600,000 of the money will distributed through grants to help support high school Gay/straight alliances and education programs for teachers and parents; $300,000 will help train human service providers about Gay youth issues and will help fund agencies that provide counseling and crisis intervention to Gay youth. The remaining $100,000 will support Gay/straight alliances at state colleges and universities.

"Five years ago, we couldn't have gotten this money," said LaFontaine. "Today, there's widespread understanding of the problems of Gay youth."

Some of those "problems" include an increased risk for dropping out of high school, attempting suicide, and abusing drugs and alcohol, according to a 1995 survey by the state's education department.

More recently, a study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that Gay and bisexual teenage males are up nearly eight times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.

Carey, whose D.C.-based organization advocates on behalf of Gay, bisexual, and transgender youth, called the Massachusetts budget allocation "incredible," and said it is the first time that a state has included non-HIV-related funding for Gay youth programs as a unique budget line item.

"Young people across the country would be much better off if their state supported them in the way that Massachusetts does," said Carey. "[State lawmakers] truly value the physical and mental health of Gay, Lesbian, bisexual, and transgender youth in that state. Massachusetts has been the leader in this area."

So far, at least 90 high schools have applied to the state education department for grants, said LaFontaine, adding that he hopes an equal number apply for assistance during a second round of the grants process next spring.

The new funding has already led to the creation of several new resources for Gay youth, including an outreach project for Gay youth of color, and a statewide Parent Pride conference, Bay Windows reported.

In addition, LaFontaine said his commission is working to establish Gay/straight alliances in each of the state's 300 high schools.

"We've made a good first step but we have a long way to go," he said. "We will keep pushing for more funding and keep applying pressure to high schools to make sure they have established Gay/straight alliances."