Local high school students struggling with issues of sexual orientation and gender identity will soon have a “safe haven” to share their experiences and find support among their peers and with concerned adults.

Organizers say that although there are similar groups in Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus, PRISM will be the first such group in Butler County and will hold its will hold its first meeting 7 p.m. Aug. 7, at the YWCA of Hamilton, 244 Dayton St.

“It’s a safe space for high school students to make friends and find support, whoever they are,” said Michelle Minette of Hamilton, an organizer of the group.

Meeting once a week, participating youth will determine discussion topics and guide the discussion. Adult facilitators will maintain a supportive environment free from judgment, prejudice, discrimination and bullying.

“I want our youth and their families to know they don’t have to walk away from anything important in their life in order to accept and love who they are,” Minette said.

Minette, who is currently working on her doctorate in psychology, said that she has worked locally as a mental health specialist and has frequently worked with teens to assist them with therapy. When issues of sexual orientation and gender identity have been part of their issue, she has had to send them to support groups in downtown Cincinnati or the Northside neighborhood.

“For many people in the area, recommending a youth group in Cincinnati isn’t an option,” she said. “Parents don’t want to drive their children there and they don’t want children driving themselves, so I began to recognize the need.

“But this group is not therapy,” she said. “It is for social support.”

Some of the facilitators, however, are clinical counselors with a focus on GLBT issues, but mostly they are just people interested in helping young people, Minette said.

When she started attending the gay-friendly Nexus Church, which meets at the YMCA in Liberty Township, she also realized the need to have a spiritual element, and so has enlisted Nexus Pastor Mike Underhill to make occasional appearance to help the students come to terms with gender and sexuality issues in regard to faith.

“It is an inter-faith group,” Underhill said, “and will also be a place where students if they want, can explore their identities and their spirituality.”

On some of these occasions, parents will be invited to join a PRISM group discussion.

“One of the main reasons parents reject their (gay) children is because they can’t reconcile the spiritual piece,” Minette said. “And sometimes, the kids feel they can’t be a part of their religion anymore because of their sexual orientation.”