At age 15, Andrew Walensa knew he was gay, but didn’t come out at Proviso West High School until his senior year when he took two transgender friends to prom. Before that, some people probably thought he was gay, but since he’s a big guy, they didn’t mess with him, he laughs.
“It was bad, but I had to deal with it,” Walensa says. “I was still me, but I had to think about things, like what I should say, and if what I said made me seem more feminine or gay.”
Now, almost a decade later, the 23-year-old Youth Group Leader for the Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association (OPALGA) is a student at Columbia College, and is helping teenagers through their transition. However, while Walensa didn’t have very many options when he was their age, kids today do, including his safety net, OPALGA.
“Most of my friends I have met have been from there,” Walensa says. “Nowadays, it’s a little different. LGBT kids have OPALGA, Gay Straight Alliance and other things like Myspace and underage clubs for support.”
Since its inception in 1989, OPALGA has become one of the largest community-based, multi-purpose lesbian and gay membership organizations in Illinois. Currently, under the tutelage of its Youth Program Director, Susan Abbott, LSCW, OPALGA offers a variety of programming including Spectrum for LGBT young adults, 18 and over; Amigos Latinos Apoyando Siempre (ALAS) in English and Spanish for Latino men 18 and over; RED, an organization for women, ages 16 to 26; and Women Like Me for women in heterosexual marriages who are separated, divorced or coming out later in life. Walensa continues to lead OUTSpoken, a creative arts group for young adults age 18-25. Additionally, this summer, OPALGA will stage its annual Youth Pride Picnic at Stevenson Park on June 23, and Abbott plans to offer a seasonal teenage drop-in group for kids, age 14-18.
“The tough thing for a lot of high school age kids is that they have to have a parent drive them everywhere, and during the school year they are already busy and probably involved with Gay Straight Alliance, so this summer drop-in program will be nice for them,” Abbott says.
Reaching out
Sometimes as she regularly travels to area high schools, colleges and social services agencies to provide LGBT education and support services, Abbot says that OUTSpoken has become part of her mix and somewhat ambassadorial. Recently, the small troupe was booked by OPRF to do a short original piece about their experiences in junior high for a middle school audience. At Sarah’s Inn they shared a performance piece around the issues of same sex domestic violence; and in the onsite workshop setting, participants will create art, magazines and write spoken word poetry, as well as engage in interactive role playing to sort out their experiences in telling family members and friends that they are gay.
Walensa hopes to increase program participation this year and encourages young adults who are interested in it to check out the group’s pictures and poetry on My Space, or contact him at outspokenpride
“It is hard coming out when you are in high school,” says Walensa. “I feel that Proviso West was a bit dicey in a way, but if I was going to OPRF now, it might be more open for me. When you are a teenager and know you are gay, you have to weigh out the situation, but still figure out how to be yourself. Not everyone has to know that you are gay until you are comfortable with it, but still don’t try to hide it. You are not isolated or the only one who is LGBT. Find a group. There are other people out there.”
-Deb Quantock Mccarey
