New Coming Out Program

So for those of you who may still be in the early stages of coming out, or are even just questioning your sexuality, there is a new program for you: GPS. While coming out groups have been an option for people for awhile, this new program pairs up you up with a peer GPS provider. Below is more information about the new GPS program. Please let anyone you think may be interested know. Here is the e-mail about it:

The University of Michigan Spectrum Center is launching a new coming out program for students today. Entitled GPS, the program will provide students with Guidance to helpful information and resources, Perspective of a fellow student who has experience with coming out, and Support for coming out.

The GPS Program was conceived by the professional and student staff at the Spectrum Center, who recognized a need for additional resources for students seeking assistance with coming out.

“The available support structures for students coming out were proving to be insufficient,” notes Lauren Sherry, Assistant Director of the Spectrum Center. “Our coming out group continues to fill to capacity, as do the support groups at Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Students stop by the office all the time looking for resources and support, and it was clear that there was a service gap that needed to be filled. The GPS Program fills that gap.”

After the GPS Program’s conception, a professional staff member and student volunteer at the Spectrum Center worked together to design and implement the program, including recruiting and training a team of volunteer GPS providers. With the GPS Team now in place, The GPS Program has the ability to pair a trained student provider with a student requesting assistance. Meeting times and locations are worked out by the students.

“One of the best features of this program is its flexibility,” says Bruce Kaczmarek, a student volunteer and Co-Coordinator of the GPS Program. Students requesting GPS simply need to fill out a confidential online request form, available at all times on the Spectrum Center’s website. From there, the GPS Coordinators will match the requestor with a GPS provider. The requestor and provider can then quickly arrange a time that works for both of them, including evenings and weekends. Based on the GPS requestor’s needs, they can have one meeting, two, or meet weekly for an entire semester. It is the most flexible of any existing coming out support programs and the easiest to schedule.

The GPS Program is not intended to take the place of professional counseling, but rather to be a supplemental or alternative option for students seeking assistance with coming out.

“It’s a new tool for LGBT and similarly-identified students to use as they are navigating their way out of the closet,” says Kevin Correa, Administrative and Programming Coordinator at the Spectrum Center, and Co-Coordinator of the GPS Program.

In addition to its flexibility, the GPS Program is unique in that it pairs student peers with each other, including peers who may have similar backgrounds.

“Often, a major contributing factor to depression or anxiety for an LGBT person struggling with coming out is a feeling of isolation” explains Correa. “This is particularly true for LGBT people of color, people of faith, and those in historically or perceived-to-be homophobic communities such as Athletics, Greek Life, and natural sciences. With the GPS program, we now have the ability to pair a student with another student who has come out in similar circumstances, thereby providing an increase in support and understanding and a decrease in feelings of isolation.”

More information about the GPS Program is available on the Spectrum Center’s website: spectrumcenter.umich.edu.