In the wake of Jamie Hubley's death, Robin Levinson found a pair of local queer leaders who talked about the importance of supporting queer youth who need role models.
Linda Privitera
Rev. Linda Privitera is leading by example. As an openly gay Anglican priest at St. Michael and All Angels Anglican Church, she says it is important for teens to see gay leaders in the community.
“They can see people who are healthy and thriving and successful, and it also means that they have somebody that they might be willing to talk to if they kind of lose sight of what’s next. That it won’t always feel so bad,” Rev. Privitera says in a recent interview.
Privitera became the subject of controversy in 2005 when she moved to Ottawa with her wife, Melissa Haussman, and received permission to preach from then-Ottawa Bishop Peter Coffin. Seven members of the Anglican Diocese in Ottawa published a letter online condemning the bishop for allowing a person in a same-sex marriage to work as a priest.
“This action causes a crisis of conscience for all Anglicans who desire to be faithful to Christ and His Word and to those who wish to remain within the world-wide Anglican Communion,” the letter read.
Back then, the Anglican Church of Canada was divided on the issue of whether or not to accept gay marriage. In 2007, they voted to bless same-sex unions.
Despite the controversy, Privitera says she decided long-ago that being open about her sexuality was a matter of Christian practice. “I could not stand in the pulpit and ask people to live in their own truth, if I was not willing to do that,” she says.
Lysh Kerby
For three years, Lysh Kerby tried to start a Gay-Straight Alliance (known as a GSA), at Bell High School. At first, Kerby encountered objections from parents, fellow students, and even some faculty members. She reached out to Jer’s Vision, a queer youth outreach group that works with GSA groups in Ottawa and across Canada, and together they worked with the administration to create the school’s first GSA in 2007.
Jeremy Diaz, the founder of Jer’s Vision, says that Kerby’s story is typical for a new GSA. “With Bell High School, and with any high school, there’s always a lot of questions and concerns,” Diaz says. “It’s not that people are afraid or hateful, it’s just that they’re unaware of the issues.”
Before the days of the GSA, Kerby says that she and her fellow queer students were isolated and bullied. “The story is pretty much the same for any gay teen I’ve ever met at Bell. They were depressed and they came out thinking everything would get better and they’d feel better. Then they’d lose a lot of friends and get depressed again,” Kerby says.
The club gained 60 members in its first year, and offered a community for gay teens. Shannon Mills, an English teacher at Bell High School, is the GSA's latest faculty advisor. She says it's now an accepted part of student life and a safe space for gay and straight teens alike. “The culture at Bell has transformed tremendously over the last few years. No one even bats an eyelash anymore,” Mills says.
