What is it for us to do?

As I write, the sleeping bags are practically still warm. We have only just finished hosting 21 youth and four adult allies for a Youth Conference. They spent most of their time in a youth-only space, but joined the adults and children of the Western Region Fall Gathering each day as well. Many thanks to local allies Jim Gardiner and Scotia Buchan, who helped create the safe space - complete with freedom, nourishment and boundaries - that nurture our UU youth.

But youth are also on my mind lately because so many have reached a point in their young lives where they can’t go on. Whether or not they have loving homes, they have faced such negativity and outright hate in the world around them that they have ended their lives as a means of escape. I know that you share my heartbreak and outrage.

As Unitarian Universalists we have a role to play in healing our world, especially for young people who are working out who they are in the face of bullying. I am speaking explicitly about youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit, queer, intersex and/or questioning. But I am also thinking of youth who feel outside “normal” in any way, and even of those who act out in hateful ways - who have worth and value and may be hurting too.

What can we do in the face of such an enormous issue? We can start by ensuring that our UU youth feel embraced, supported, known and loved for who they are. We need a thriving Youth Group, with a team of advisors who are not parents of the youth, who appreciate young people and have a healthy sense of boundaries. We need a multigenerational community where we understand that age and stage groups need time on their own, as well as opportunities to come together with others.

This is how we begin to help a handful of young people – who are already outside “normal” when they identify as UU – feel like they have an entire community behind them. Knowing that they are not alone, that they belong somewhere and that we see them and value them, can be life altering.

The answer to the Youth rallying cry that serves as the title above: “It is for us to heal the world”.

Peace, Andrea