Nebraska sets
funds aside for queer youth counseling

In Nebraska's capital city of Lincoln, majorities on the city council and Lancaster County board took a much-needed step in funding a program designed to help professionals do a better job of counseling gay and lesbian youths. The $1,500 in keno tax revenue will be used to create a Web site, hold four seminars, and gather materials for professionals.

Lincoln-Lancaster County Human Services administrator Kit Boesch said that she expects 200 professionals will use the materials to aid in dealing with "hard-to-work-with" teens, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

Gay and lesbian youth are at high risk for depression and suicide, experts say. In 2001 the American Psychological Association testified in a Senate hearing that suicide was the leading cause of death among gay teens.

The council and county board majorities tried to alleviate any controversy by awarding the contract to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Health Center instead of the nonprofit Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays advocacy group.

That wasn't enough for such critics as councilwoman Robin Eschliman and county commissioner Bob Workman, who said the program would undermine traditional values, the Lincoln Journal Star reported. (The Advocate)