For the first time, Craig High School has been offering a support group catered to LGBTQ students. Since October, the group has been run by Mrs Boylan and Mrs Chantell, a professional mental health counselor.

As opposed to GSA, which is an after-school club, the support group meets during school hours and is specifically for assisting students with struggles and issues that they might have to deal with as queer youth.

The group provides education and resources regarding LGBTQ-related issues, helps students establish connections with other LGBTQ teens, and provides a positive support system within the school.

The group was formed by Mrs Boylan, a member of the Mental Health Grant team. Third-party counseling was brought in for some students, and the school started hosting support groups a year later.

Mrs Boylan planned to start an LGBTQ-specific support group in the spring of the 2021-22 school year, but wasn’t able to start it until October of 2022. “I thought [an LGBTQ support group] was something we were missing in the school,” she said.

Mrs Chantell was interested in the support group due to her experience supporting LGBTQ teens. She runs several therapy groups for transgender teenagers at Mercy, and felt that more support was needed in schools. “I know through that group that school support was a little on the light side,” she said. “So that was something good to build here, for sure.”

For more information, or to join the group, students can contact Mrs Boylan for a permission slip.