Cape Cod couple helps parents of gay youth

Amy Mesirow and her husband got involved with the struggles of gay youth when their son came out to them three years ago. They assured him of their love immediately, but found they needed help for themselves. Mesirow is now a board member of PFLAG (Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays), as well as at Cape & Islands Gay & Straight Alliance, which runs a safe house for youths 22 and under in Hyannis. To their own surprise, they hid their own internal turmoil and grief. “My husband and I are both very liberal socially, support gay marriage and all that,” Amy said, but finding out someone is gay is “totally different when it’s your own child. It’s almost like a death,” Mesirow said. It’s the loss of a vision that you have of your child’s future, that they will live a life like your own, with a spouse and children.”

[via Telegram.com]