There were some options, but they really weren't what he needed. "In all of the youth forums I went to online, all I found was older men, or a bunch of sex talk (no matter what the age was). And that's fine, to each his own, but that's not what I was looking for." Another group was monitored, and required up to five days' delay between a message's composition and its actual release to the group. While these forums were all well-meaning, Hungerford wanted to find "someone my own age, someone

"When I was going through my self-acceptance period of realizing my sexuality, and needed to talk to someone about it, I really felt like I had nowhere to go." -- Jason Hungerford

who was going through the same things I was."

With some assistance and Internet hosting from the Critical Path AIDS Project, the first phases of Youth Guardian Services were launched on Jan. 31, 1997. The organization began with two e-mail support lists, divided into ages 13-17 and 17-21, for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning and straight supportive youth. Within just a few months, the lists had grown so large that the group was encouraged to gain the financial support to move off the Critical Path server. On Nov. 5, 1997, the Commonwealth of Virginia incorporated Youth Guardian Services as a nonprofit organization.

In addition to the original youth lists, YGS now hosts a third list, for ages 21-25, created in October 1997 to serve the needs of former subscribers to the other lists. Together, these three lists, which have helped over 2,300 people in just over a year, remain the cornerstone of the Youth Guardian Services organization.

Adam found exactly what YGS attempts to provide. "All of the sudden, I realized I was not alone. I could talk to any one of these 500 teenagers

Jason Hungerford

with confidentiality and freedom. YGS has given me guidance in a safe environment to deal with this new dimension that had become a part of my life."

Since its inception, YGS has grown to much more than just the youth lists and the staff has grown to many more people than just Hungerford, Lund, and Miller. Each of the group's projects has its own manager and staff to ensure that its goals are met. Each mailing list is overseen by a list manager who, along with several assistants, helps maintain the list as a "virtual safe zone" and ensures that members are within the specific age guidelines. The list managers themselves must also meet these age specifications. YGS also has a board of directors to guide the organization's efforts. Almost all of the project staff and 60 percent of the board of directors are under 25.

A staff of this size is needed to supervise the many projects which have joined the original youth lists on the YGS server. The organization hosts a schools list which tries, according to Hungerford, "to end homophobia in primary and secondary schools. We limit this focus on specifically primary and secondary schools because there are already many college organizations who have a similar mission, but not too many for younger students." YGS also hosts a project devoted to uniting gay, lesbian, and bisexual groups at the collegiate level.