As schools remain closed, online options are expanding for students stuck at home.  

OUT Maine, a nonprofit that serves LGBTQ+ youth throughout Maine, has been collaborating with other organizations to create even more free weekly workshops for youth and young adults. Workshop content ranges from life-skills building topics to creative expression.

Maine Family Planning, New Hope for Women, Camp Kieve-Wavus, Maine Youth Action Network (MYAN), Healthy Communities of the Capital Area (HCCA) and Maine Educational Opportunity Center (MEOC), as well as individual community members, are among those collaborating with OUT Maine to help keep Maine’s LGBTQ+ Maine youth and their allies connected and supported. 

Upcoming workshops include “Poetry as a Prism for Self-Expression,” with Danielle Layton (MYAN), on May 5; and “What is Effective Communication,” with Jess Anderson from Kieve- Wavus Education, on May 12.

Photographer and retired Mount Desert Island high school teacher Lin Gould is offering creative online workshops “Photovoice” and “Writing Six Word Stories” every Monday and Thursday respectively. 

In addition to these workshops, OUT Maine is offering weekly programming: Wednesday Youth Group for youth ages 11-18, a Friday Young Adult Group for ages 18-22, and a Thursday Dungeons n Dragons game for ages 11-22. These programs utilize online platforms, including Zoom, Google and Discord.

Interested youth can register for programs at www.outmaine.org. Registrations are confidential – they simply provide access to group programming “rooms.” These workshops are not exclusive to youth who identify as LGBTQ+; youth allies* are welcome and encouraged to attend.

OUT Maine is seeking more workshop presenters for online programs as it expands these offerings. If you are interested in providing a free workshop for youth, please contact rachel@outmaine.org.

*What does it mean to be an LGBTQ+ ally? In OUT Maine programs, it means someone who does not identify as LGBTQ+ but is supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.