"I read about how young people, afraid to come out or unable to find support in their hometowns, could become part of the organization, subscribe to the e-mail list and talk honestly about their sexuality online," Josh now recalls. It was then that coming out started to become a possibility for him.

"For seven years, I did everything I could to try to hide and change my sexuality, but I saw an opportunity to be honest with myself and come out of the closet."

When an online friend told 16-year-old Adam* about the YGS youth lists, he was not even out to himself. This friend, who had been acting as an older brother and helping Adam talk through his confusion, thought it would be good for him to finally talk to people his own age.

"I was incredibly scared and depressed at even thinking that I was not 100 percent straight. 'Coming out' was the furthest thing from my mind," Adam says recalling the time in March 1998 when he discovered Youth Guardian Services.

Josh and Adam both found something important in YGS. "I was looking for camaraderie and friendship with other gay youth," Josh explains. "I wanted to have a support system that I could turn to routinely with my questions, emotions, and success stories about coming out to people."

"I was incredibly scared and depressed at even thinking that I was not 100 percent straight." -- Adam*

Youth Guardian Services began in the summer of 1996 with then 19-year-old Jason Hungerford and his friends, Katherine Lund (also 19) and James Miller (16 at the time). The inception of the organization itself was more or less an accident. "I never set out to do any of this," Hungerford says. "This isn't what I wanted for a 'career.' It just sort of happened, and I just rolled with it."

It began when Hungerford and his friends had an idea for a support group for youth trying to deal with issues of self-acceptance and discovering their own sexuality. As the owner of an e-mail list working towards providing a safer school environment for homosexual students, Hungerford saw a very real need for support for gay youth on the Internet.

He was already receiving hundreds of e-mails a day from young people who were struggling with their sexuality and seeking advice and support.