Thanks in part to grant funding from United Midcoast Charities, OUT Maine kept a busy schedule of in-person and online programs for LGBTQ+ and allied youth in Knox and Waldo counties this year. This included weekly online youth groups, the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts Studio Immersion Weekend, and the OUT Maine Goes Live on the Lake (OMGLOL) Leadership Retreat. One hundred twenty-eight youths in Knox and Waldo counties have participated in these programs. OUT Maine also provided training to one hundred thirty-two adult professionals that support LGBTQ+ youth in Knox and Waldo counties.
The grant will also help provide opportunities for youth in Knox and Waldo to attend OUT Maine’s biggest event of the year: Rainbow Ball Weekend! Rainbow Ball Weekend brings together nearly 200 youth and teachers from around the state to Damariscotta Lake for three days of workshops, games, a talent show, and a safe prom.
OUT Maine has an ambitious goal: to create more welcoming and affirming communities for Maine’s diverse queer youth in all their intersectional identities by changing the very systems that serve them. For more information, please visit www.outmaine.org.