Being a teen in America today is not easy. There is pressure to do well in school, fights with family and friends, and more serious issues such as drug use, pregnancy and eating disorders.

Now add being gay to that list. Often, homosexual teens face a whole new set of challenges. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, studies have found increased risk for suicide attempts among gay youths, especially males.

Y-Press recently spoke with three local teens about issues facing gay youths. Justin Fill, 15, attends Pike High School and described himself as an ally of the gay community. Kendra Clarke, 17, is gay and now a student at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Va. Jon, 15, is gay and requested that his last name not be used to protect his privacy. All three are regulars at Indiana Youth Group, a local organization providing a safe haven for youths to discuss issues surrounding sexual orientation.

For Jon, coming out at age 13 was his first hurdle.

"It took me an hour to tell my mom 'cause it's so hard to say the two words, 'I'm gay.' . . . I had been really suicidal during that time, and they put me in a mental hospital. We had family therapy; my dad and my mom and I talked about it, and it went pretty well. And they finally got used to it."

Kendra had an easier experience. "I had the luck of being raised in a family who's very liberal. My parents were completely fine with it," she said.

For these teens, school seems to be the most common place for discrimination. A 1994 study by the Massachusetts Department of Education found the average U.S. high school student hears 25 antigay slurs per day at school.

At first, Jon had a rough time. Students at his middle school bullied him, he said, and he was home-schooled for a while. But high school students have been less judgmental.

"I came out to my friends really quick, and they were all pretty accepting."

Justin is straight but has several gay friends.

"A lot of people think I'm gay because I hang out with gay people. They're like, 'Are you gay?' and you can tell just by looking at their faces that they don't associate with gay people. They don't think of them as equals."

At college, Kendra has faced differing views of her sexual orientation from people in the area.

"I go to school with a lot of girls who are very religious, and a lot of girls quite frankly are not very accepting of homosexuality in general. . . . I get a lot of comments about 'Why would anyone want to be gay?' and then I have to explain myself," she said.

Jon also has had people tell him he will go to hell because he's gay.

"It kind of makes me angry that people use God as an excuse to make other people feel bad."

Stereotypes are another obstacle a gay teen has to face.

"A lot of people think that when you're gay, you're gay for sex, but it's not all about that. It's probably less than in the straight community," Justin said.

"I think it's just needing to know people on a person-to-person basis, not just that they're gay," said Jon, adding that it's also a problem to find other gay youths. "Last year, our school started a gay youth group, but there were only like four people who came."

Still, all said positive things can come out of being gay or being friends with a person who is gay.

"There are so many advantages because the kind of relationship you can have with a gay person, as a friend, you learn so much about them, about people in general, and in turn you learn a lot about yourself," said Justin.

"I think I feel better being a minority because I can relate to other minorities," added Jon.

Coming to Indiana Youth Group has helped the teens with issues of sexual orientation and life in general.

"I've made a lot of friends here. . . . A lot of people don't feel comfortable talking about gay issues, and I know I can talk about that here," said Jon.

"When I came to IYG, I met so many different kinds of people. . . . A lot of people, they think of gay as just one personality type, and then there are like a million different types of personalities within the straight community. But there are so many different types of people in every community, and especially here," said Justin.

For Kendra, IYG provides a place where she can be herself without fear of ridicule.

"It's really important in general for me to be able to find some place where I can be who I am and I don't have to worry about what others may think of me because of my sexuality," she explained.

The teens had advice for someone who is questioning his or her sexual orientation or considering "coming out."

"I would say that if you're thinking about coming out, you definitely need to evaluate where you are, who you are, and how people around you are going to react," said Kendra. "I've had friends who have come out to their parents and they weren't financially independent, and their parents reacted badly and kicked them out of the house, and they didn't know what to do. You have to be prepared if something like that were to happen."

"If you're questioning whether or not to come out, you have to think about if you are mad at yourself for it, because if you're mad at yourself for it and then you come out and you don't get any support, it's gonna be that much harder to deal with it. But if you can give yourself support and love yourself, and then everybody hates you for coming out or for admitting you're gay, then you'll still be OK," said Justin.

ASSISTANT EDITOR : Xixi Hohman, 16.

REPORTER : Natalie Szempruch, 13.