As of March 12, as a precautionary measure against coronavirus, OUT MetroWest has canceled its in-person youth meetings … but they replaced them with sessions online. The next scheduled online sessions will be held on March 16, 18 and 19.
The Framingham, Massachusetts–based nonprofit’s online sessions pretty seamlessly correspond to the scheduled times for their drop-in sessions, WAGLY and Umbrella meetings. Links to the online meetings have been sent directly to participants. For more on this, or to find out how youth not yet participating can get support, see OUT MetroWest’s announcement about the online sessions, or go to outmetrowest.org.
Many organizations that support LGBTQ people are coming up with creative ways to meet the isolating challenges of coronavirus. So check out your local support services to see how they’re responding, as many are offering alternatives like telephone and online options in lieu of in-person support.
Here’s more about OUTMetroWest:
OUT MetroWest began running youth programs in 2011 and became an independent non-profit organization in 2014. The organization’s first program, WAGLY, was created as a program of the Unitarian Universalists of Wellesley. It formed in response to requests from local youth and their families, who sought a safe space for LGBTQ+ high schoolers in MetroWest Boston. The only program of its kind between Boston and Worcester, WAGLY immediately drew dozens of area youth with its weekly social, educational, and supportive meetings.
In 2012, the organization’s second program launched. Umbrella, a twice-monthly program for transgender and gender non-conforming high schoolers, was created in response to community requests. Umbrella offered social interaction, education, and support within meetings facilitated by transgender and gender non-conforming adults.
By 2014, the demand for programming was only increasing, and it became clear that the programs had outgrown their home at the church. The organization sought and received independent not-for-profit status as OUT MetroWest.
In 2015, OUT MetroWest launched the state’s first program for LGBTQ+ and allied middle schoolers, Nexus. Two years later, the organization began offering weekly drop-in sessions for LGBTQ+ middle and high school students.
Between WAGLY, Umbrella, Nexus, and drop-in sessions, the organization currently runs more than a dozen youth meetings per month out of locations in Framingham, Newton, and Wellesley. Since 2011, OUT MetroWest has directly served more than 1,000 youth at its meetings, has conducted dozens of trainings for local schools and organizations, and has welcomed more than 200 guests at its events for LGBTQ+ families.
Not a subscriber? Sign up today for a free subscription to Boston Spirit magazine, New England’s premier LGBT magazine. We will send you a copy of Boston Spirit 6 times per year and we never sell/rent our subscriber information. Click HERE to sign up!
