You are not alone

When I came out, my LGBT+ friends were an invaluable and supportive network which has stayed with me. Despite that, the process was difficult and still can be, no matter the circumstances. Although the news didn’t come as a complete surprise to my parents, they had to adjust the ideas they had formed about my future. Although I tried to reassure them that I would be OK and could be happy, I wish they’d had someone to talk to who they could relate to and ask questions. If we’d had something like the charity Allsorts Youth Project (ASY) in Bristol back in 2015, I like to think we would have used it.

A beneficiary of the Magazine Foundation (AMF), ASY is a Sussex-based LGBT+ charity founded in 1999. Operating across Brighton, Horsham, Worthing, Chichester and Hastings, it works with children and young people under 26 who are either LGBT+ or are exploring their