http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art icle?AID=20060620/METRO/606200354-1/AR CHIVE

Summer camp caters to gay teens

Program, at a secret Mich. location, aims to teach youths to become political activists; others are wary.

George Hunter / The Detroit News

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DETROIT -- Steven Howard is looking forward to summer camp, where the 15-year-old hopes to ride horses, hike in the woods -- and learn to advocate for gay rights.

Steven, a ninth-grader at the Detroit School for Performing Arts, is among several Metro Detroit youths who plan to attend "Camping.Out," a weeklong summer camp organized by the Triangle Foundation that aims to teach youths to become political activists for gay rights.

Steven, who lives on the east side of Detroit, said he's looking forward to getting out of his urban neighborhood for a week. "I really want to go horseback riding," he said, "but I'm interested in the political stuff, too."

The camp is the first of its kind in Michigan, said Greg Varnum, the Triangle Foundation's youth initiatives coordinator. It will feature workshops and visits by national gay rights leaders who will talk about how teens can become politically active.

"This is a unique program," Varnum said. "In Michigan, there haven't been any camps for gay youths that I'm aware of. There are camps in other states that cater to gay youths, but they focus more on traditional camping. What makes this camp unique is the focus on activism."

Camping.Out comes at a time when gay teens are organizing more than ever before. Support groups for gay youths are being formed in high schools across the country, said Martha Fugate, director and founder of the Yes Institute, a Florida-based nonprofit organization that educates school officials and clergy on gay issues.

"When I started this organization in 1995, there were no gay-straight alliances in high schools, and very few gay-oriented programs in schools," Fugate said. "But the culture is changing rapidly. There's still a long way to go, but these programs are allowing more kids to see that it's OK to come out; that they don't have to alter their lives just to be who they are."

At the same time, summer youth camps have become more specialized. There are Christian camps, soccer camps, drama camps, band camps and baseball camps, to name a few.

"This camp will be no different than, say, YMCA youth camps that give leadership training to kids," said Grace McClelland, executive director of the Ruth Ellis Center, a program that offers various social services to gay youths. "We have to train and cultivate our young people."

The camp, which will be held Aug. 13-18 at an undisclosed location in western Michigan, is offered to eighth- to 12th-graders. Varnum said about a dozen teens are registered so far for the $475 camp. Scholarships will be available for those who cannot afford the fee.

"We're going to keep the location of the camp a secret," Varnum said. "We don't want protesters to ruin what should be a fun experience for these kids."

Critics expressed several concerns about the camp, including the age of the participants, and the sleeping arrangements, in which teens who could potentially be attracted to each other will stay in the same rooms.

"Would you ever have a camp where you allowed teenage boys to be housed with girls? Or, would you allow camp counselors who are men to be housed with young girls? This is the same kind of situation -- it's a time bomb," said Linda Harvey, director of Mission America, an Ohio-based nonprofit Christian organization that studies youth homosexuality. Those concerns have been taken into consideration, McClelland said. She said the program will send a group of kids to Camping.Out.

"In a straight camp you'd separate the boys from the girls, because these are teenagers after all," McClelland said. "We've taken the necessary steps. We're going to send one adult for every two youths."

Corey Howard, Steven's father, said he thinks the camp is a good idea.

"I think it will be a positive experience," he said. "I'll admit -- I'm not a big fan of homosexuality, and I wasn't happy when he told me he was gay. But I'm his father, first and foremost, so I support him. I don't love him because of his sexual preference, I love him because he's my son."

Varnum, who said he has 20 years of experience working in various camps, and who sits on the board of directors of the American Camp Association's Michigan Branch, said special precautions are being taken with selecting volunteers to monitor the kids.

"We have people who are way overqualified who have volunteered to be camp counselors. There are directors of organizations, leaders in the field of child psychology -- it's like a dream team of camp professionals," Varnum said.

Steven said the concerns about sexual activity are unfounded.

"People think all gay people think about is sex," he said. "But that's wrong." END OF ARTICLE