Support for lesbian, gay, bi, trans*, inter and queer youth

COMING OUT DAY e.V. provides support for lgbtiq* youth throughout germany since 2006.

Even today, young LGBTIQ* often experience a severe crisis before and during their coming out. The suicide risk of queer young people between 12 and 25 is four to seven times higher than that of young people in general. The risk of suicide increases significantly the younger the youths are when they come out.

Loneliness and the lack of a partner to talk to are by far the most common problems. Depression is often the result. A large proportion react with substance abuse, eating disorders or self-harm.

Coming Out Day e. V. - a non-profit organisation recognised as an independent youth welfare organisation according to § 75 of the german Child and Youth Welfare Act - has made it its mission to educate and sensitise about the serious problems of LGBTIQ* youths, to activate support potentials and to implement or financially support actual local projects.

Because there IS help and support for these young people. In many places there are contact points, youth groups, counselling services or youth centres.

But the projects, which are almost exclusively run by volunteers, often lack the most basic necessities: the opportunity to advertise their services, for example. To be able to pay for further training in counselling for their volunteers. Or to be able to accommodate a young person who has been thrown out at least for a few nights.

The thousands of young people who have found support through local aid projects, often for the first time in their lives, prove that this work makes a difference. They find people they can confide in, who are there for them and who accept and value them as they are and not as they are supposed to be.

The COMING OUT DAY organisation exists since March 2006 and is operating throughout Germany. Our goal is to make as many people as possible aware of the needs of queer youths and to collect donations for this purpose. We carry out support projects ourselves and, in addition, local projects all over Germany can apply to COMING OUT DAY for funds for their work - so we are also a kind of support organisation for lsbtiq* youth work. Of course, the association checks the use of the funds on site.

Prominent ambassadors of the association are actress and cabaret artist Maren Kroymann and presenter, author and director Thomas Hermanns.

The supported projects, videos, interviews with the ambassadors and much more can be found on our website www.coming-out-day.de or on Facebook under "Coming Out Day".