GAY TO Z
PROGRAMME 4
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In Programme 4 we catch up with Lewis, Reem, Stephen and Kevin and meet Logan, her partner Sarah and Sarah's two children, Matthew and Sian.
- Reem is 17 and lives in a YMCA hostel. She is Egyptian and Muslim and had to leave home after she came out
- Lewis is 19 and lives with his dad and sister in Leicester. He moved in with his dad after being bullied at school
- Logan is 22 and lives with Sarah and her two children
- Sarah is Logan's partner. She realised that she was a lesbian after falling in love with Logan
- Stephen and Kevin have been living with Kevin's family but now have a flat of their own
- Matthew and Sian are Sarah's children. Although they don't like Logan's rules about tidying up, they do get to go to lots of places in her car!
This programme looks at families and the support that is available to LGB young people. We see that proper support can do wonders for LGB young people. Kevin's mum let his boyfriend Stephen move out of his homophobic home and live with them. Kevin's mum has always been accepting of her gay son and she is very fond of Stephen. Her support has meant that Stephen and Kevin have finally moved into their own flat and are very excited.
Lack of support can have dangerous consequences for LGB young people, and suicide and self-harm rates are disproportionately high amongst the LGB community. Reem used to self-harm until she took control of her life by moving out of home. Before now, we have only seen Lewis joking and chatting about his lack of a love life. However, in this programme we find out that he was badly bullied at school and used to truant and drink too much. Now that he has moved in with his supportive dad he is a lot happier.
This programme also looks at loving families with same-sex parents. Logan and Sarah are bringing up Sarah's children, Matthew and Sian. Logan is only 22 and hadn't expected to have a family at such a young age, but she loves them and loves being part of a family. Matthew and Sian love her back and say that although people at school asked about their mum being a lesbian for a while, they don't bother about it anymore.
