Hello John, 

I grew up in Dublin, Ohio, in the 1980s. If you weren’t there, let me paint you a picture: it was conservative, it was quiet, and it was lonely—especially if you were a closeted gay kid like me. It was the kind of place where fitting in was everything, and standing out felt like a threat.

Not long ago, I received a message from an old high school classmate. He shared his coming out story, which read very similar to mine. We were both trying to survive the isolation of adolescence in a place that made “different” feel dangerous.

Even though we were walking the same hallways, enduring the same cruelty, and doing the same emotional math every day to survive, we didn’t find each other. We didn’t know we could. The cost of community felt too high, so we settled for isolation.

That is the great irony of so many queer people’s early lives: our stories are eerily similar, yet we often live them apart. But I also believe that’s where our strength lies.

Once you have known what it feels like to be alone, you never want anyone else to feel that way again. You understand how important community is—not just for survival, but for joy, for truth, for becoming who you were always meant to be.

I shared that story at the Rainbow Youth Summit in Cathedral City (pictured below), a space made possible by an It Gets Better: Changemakers grant. I shared with this group of future leaders something I wish someone had shared with me when I was 14: 

You are not alone. You are not broken. You are worthy of love and connection, exactly as you are.

It Gets Better exists to ensure that message is never lost. We strive every day to connect LGBTQ+ youth to a community of support. And here is some of that work in action:

Ben in Bloom. For Trans Day of Visibility, we premiered Ben in Bloom, a short film about one of our Youth Voices graduates. It is a moving portrait of identity, advocacy, and growing up non-binary in a hostile school district. It Gets Better hosted the filmmakers for a conversation after the screening with Youth Voice Eli and our Education Coordinator Raelee Sweet. Such a powerful reminder of how storytelling builds community. The film and Q&A are now streaming on our YouTube channel.

It Gets Better When… with Shannon Beveridge. When YouTuber turned podcast host Shannon Beveridge was exploring her identity, it was with the help of It Gets Better – staying up late in her college dorm room, watching our stories, and hoping the message was true. Now, she’s having a full circle moment and sharing her story for Lesbian Visibility Day. Newsflash - “It is true. It is really, really, really true, and I’m so glad I stuck around to find out.” Check out Shannon’s story now on our YouTube channel!  

Youth Voices - Many It Gets Better Youth Voices continue to inspire well after their program participation ends. Our current Youth Voices cohort is heading for big things after high school: Ivy League acceptances, public interest internships, and more. From Princeton to Capitol Hill to traveling the world, our soon-to-be alumni are about to make their mark on the world.

It Gets Better: Changemakers - Deadlines are looming for the 2025/26 grant cycle. Proposals are due no later than May 5th, so if you know a young LGBTQ+ person with a great idea to bring their local community together – let’s talk! Think queer proms, public art installations, theater performance, and advocacy initiatives. We want to fund the aspirational ideas of our next generation of queer leaders!

These examples of It Gets Better in work are reminders of what is possible when LGBTQ+ youth are seen, supported, and offered a path to a bright future. 

So let’s keep showing up, creating room for joy, and building a future where no one has to be alone!

Stay loud, stay proud,

Brian Wenke (he/him)
Executive Director
It Gets Better

P.S. Discovering who you are and understanding your place in the world is a right of passage that all young LGBTQ+ people deserve to experience safely with as much support as we can muster. A monthly investment of $100 can pave the way for one Youth Voice  – an It Gets Better ambassadorship designed to empower the next generation of LGBTQ+ leaders!

The It Gets Better Project is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth around the globe. All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. 

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