Meeting other gay male teens in Humberside UK

hi,
i’m a gay 14 year old and i feel like i’m lacking contact with other gays and its bringing me down a little bit. I’ve tried to meet guys near me but there aren’t any obvious places to find gays. I was wondering if you knew of or could find any resources for meeting gays in my area, Beverley, Humberside, England. thanks 🙂

Kay Wo

Hi Andy,

Thanks for writing in to us at AlterHéros with your question. First of all, we deeply apologize for taking so long to get back to you. Our UK correspondent got held up and never got a chance to write a response. Hopefully this reply isn't too late.

Now back to your question. First of all, good for you for identifying yourself as gay at such a young age! It might sound silly to receive praise for this but it's not that often that people of your age are openly out and looking to meet other guys. This fact is probably why you're having trouble meeting other gays your age; most of them are not comfortable enough to be out. Also, a lot of services that are dedicated to finding partners are only offered to people 18 years or older, so it's understandable that you're having trouble making contact with other gays.

One suggestion is to try and meet youth in your area by searching online. The Gay Youth Corner is an international chat website where you can chat with other gay youth that possibly live in or close to your area. You could also try social networking sites like Facebook, Bebo or MySpace. After you create your own page (make sure you never give away personal information such as your address or phone number), you can search for other youth like you or even create a group of your own so that others can join. From there you can figure out where they like to hang out in your neighborhood or you could probably arrange a joint outing yourself. As always, if you're meeting with people you've never met before, make sure you do the following things:

1. Tell a family member when and where you're going in case something bad happens and bring a close friend of yours to go with you so you don't have to go alone;

2. Make sure that you meet in a public place with a lot of people around (like a shopping center or busy coffee shop) so you don't run the chance of being isolated or trapped in a bad situation where you can't get help;

3. Have your mobile phone or some money for a payphone in case you need to contact someone;

4. Carry money on you for transportation (transit or taxi) if you get stuck without a ride.

If using the internet isn't your thing, you can try contacting the resources below for more information on gay youth events or gatherings in your general area. They will be able to help you find a youth group where you can meet other gays that aren't too far away from home.

Hopefully you'll be able to find a new group of friends to hang out with who are also openly gay. It can be pretty discouraging to feel like the only gay in the village. Let us know if you find any success with the resources we've sent you or if you're still having trouble meeting people. We'll be happy to try and figure out a new meeting-people strategy for you. Until then, good luck and have fun!

Sincerely,

K-Wo for AlterHéros

Resources for Yorkshire and Humberside:

Hull

Shout Youth Group

Group for young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Meets on Monday evenings between 6pm – 8pm.

For more information contact Karen – 01482 218109 or Rob – 01482 336322 (after 12pm)

York

LGBT Youth Group

Group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people aged up to 25

Meets every Thursday 7-9pm

Call 07767 318175 or email info@lgbyouthyork.org.uk

Leeds