LGBTQ+ Youth Group

OUTLET is a peer support group for LGBTQ+ youth and allies ages 14 - 24 that meets one Saturday a month. Each month two staff members from the Solstice team and our Executive Director meet to host and support LGBTQ+youth by providing a safe space for young people to connect, share experiences, and build healthy communities.

Hosted at Solstice and safe spaces around the island, OUTLET is a safe and confidential space. We define a “safe space” as an environment created with a conscious set of decisions and actions taken by individuals to promote equality, fairness, non-violence, and affirmation of the unconditional value of all peoples, where youth are free to grow, thrive, and express their individual identities’.

Topics we’ve explored so far include creating safe space at schools, difficulty coming out to parents, bullying in schools, and identity. One of our goals is to grow OUTLET to include participants and representatives from each school and have 15 core participants by March 2025. We’re currently engaging with LGBTQ+ teachers and allies in our public and private high-schools in order to build and promote the program.

If you would like to join OUTLET please contact us here.

Michael DeCouto, the Clarien Bank's EVP Chief Digital and Marketing Officer, said: “In our quest to be an Employer of Choice, Clarien has been working internally to ensure all employees feel safe and welcome in bringing their full selves to work – regardless of their race, gender and sexuality. These efforts extend beyond the four walls of the Bank, as we look to support like-minded organisations that are doing their part to promote diversity and inclusion in Bermuda. We are especially proud to support OUTBermuda in its quest to provide the Island’s LGBTQ+ community with this new monthly support group, OUTLET. We trust that as people are provided a safe and nurturing community in which to share, listen and belong, they will in turn feel empowered to be more of their true and authentic selves.