Justin’s Gift, a nonprofit in the Anoka Hennepin School District formed this fall with the aim of creating safe space for LGBT youth in a district that has been the center of a culture war over LGBT issues. The Star Tribune on Monday profiled the group:

As a teenager in the late 1980s, Jefferson Fietek knew of only one place to find other gay people, he said — a phone chat line. He says he’s “darn lucky” that kind of risky reaching out did not end with him being assaulted or killed. Now a theater arts teacher at Anoka Middle School for the Arts, Fietek sees kids daily who struggle with their own sexual identities.

Justin Anderson, a 2010 Blaine High School graduate who is gay, suffered psychological and physical harassment at school that left him feeling worthless and fearful.

Tammy Aaberg’s 15-year-old son, also named Justin, committed suicide in 2010. She believes he was driven to despair by bullying he suffered because he was gay.

The three didn’t know each other before Justin Aaberg’s death, but they now are united in seeking to prevent similar sorrow in other people’s lives.

As the leaders of Justin’s Gift, they want to give gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) youth an outlet where they — and their families and friends — can get the support and resources they need to be resilient and healthy.

The full story can be read here.