First crushes. Surging hormones. Parents who don’t understand. Add to the typical teen turmoil the fact of being gay, and matters of sexual identity can profoundly affect how—and even whether—kids live their lives. More than a quarter of gay teens drop out of high school, and suicide lures three times as many as their heterosexual peers.

Meet the members of SWAGLY, a private peer-support group for gay and lesbian teens in Worcester, Massachusetts, and hear some stories that range from shocking to poignant. Nineteen-year-old Chris has just been “outed” by his brother and fears that his father—who calls him a freak—will kick him out of the house or “beat the living crap out of me.” Jason, a high school senior, wrestles with a more philosophical dilemma: having chosen to become a born-again Christian, he takes literally the biblical texts that say his lifestyle will send him to hell. Amy, an easygoing college student, loves to visit her family—but can never bring her girlfriend home to meet them. On the other hand, there’s 25-year-old group leader Greg, a soft-spoken, thoughtful son of a minister whose parents—the only ones to appear on camera—accept and love him unconditionally.
“A lot of the young people in SWAGLY are real extraordinary,” says Greg of this Wednesday-night drop-in group, whose candor and openness allow for some surprising revelations. “To see the way they struggle with issues and resolve them in their lives—that really inspires me.”