LGBT activist Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller have started a storytelling movement.  The “It Gets Better Project” on YouTube, begun in response to the recent highly publicized series suicides of gay teenagers, has inspired hundreds of people to tell their stories on camera.

The concept is simple and very effective. Savage and  Miller sat in front of a camera and started talking. They told about their awful experiences being bullied as teenagers, how it got so much better and about their lives together today.

Then they invited other people to send in their video testimonials. According to the October 9  Los Angeles Times, “Since Sept. 21, the channel has clocked more than 1.2 million views. More than 650 people young and old, gay and straight, religious and atheist, have submitted their own stories”.

Facebook has at least two pages devoted to the stories. There’s the It Gets Better Project that quotes Harvey Milk, “You gotta give ‘em hope,” and the Make it Better Project.

Several celebrities have made videos telling their personal stories including Neil Patrick Harris, Kathy Griffin and the cast of Wicked. Ellen DeGeneres said that four teen suicides in a row should be considered a crisis and that this needs to be a wakeup call for all of us to help our teens.

You can go to the It Gets Better Project website where you can post your own video story.

There are several supportive communities on Facebook including the It Gets Better Project that quotes Harvey Milk, “You gotta give ‘em hope,” and the Make it Better Project. Even the White House is talking about teen suicide.  From the official website, “Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett spoke at the annual national dinner of the Human Rights Campaign to directly address the recent tragedies surrounding youth who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.”

This is an amazing example of the simple act of telling our stories being one of the best way to reach out to people.

If you are a teen being bullied or know one, reach out for help.  In Tucson contact Eon, Wingspan’s youth program, 520-624-1779 ext 127 or kellasante@wingspan.org. Nationally visit The Trevor Project or call its national 24-hour, toll free confidential suicide hotline for gay and questioning youth at 1-866-488-7386.

I went to Lunafest (short films by, for and about women) last night at the the Loft Cinema in an audience of about 300. Lunafest’s stated mission is to “celebrate and inspire women through the art of film and community fundraising”.  All proceeds from this fundraiser benefited Women’s Studies Advisory Council (WOSAC) and The Breast Cancer Fund, both UA programs.

It reminded me of the February 20, 2005 Breast Cancer Stories at Odyssey Storytelling. That year it was a much smaller crowd.  I was working in collaboration with a now defunct grassroots women’s organization; there was little publicity for the films and the theme of the storytelling evening seem to scare people away.

The audience was sparse but the 30 or so people who where there were treated to inspiring, sad, humorous, horrifying and uplifting stories.  The brave and amazing tellers that night were Amy Weintraub, Mickey Monroe, Tom Anway, Mary Wilson, Meera and Lisa Levine.  Donations were made to Susan G. Koman & Wingspan Breast Health Project and the art that graced the program, I See Them Everywhere, was generously donated by Susanne Gillatt.

Is the difference in audience size the fact that a large and established group did a great job of organized the show or is it because talking about and raising money for breast cancer has become so much more accepted in these 5 years?  Pink bracelets and ribbons may be annoying but they do “tell a story” if we like it or not.

I believe that the courageous people who have stepped forth to share their personal experiences with breast cancer, at a time when the words could just be whispered, have been instrumental in breaking down barriers and challenging taboos.  I am convinced that the heightened level of awareness and the “human face” on the disease has been a contributing factor to increased funding and research on breast cancer.

How has stepping out and telling your story changed the world?