Date: Sat, 4 Mar 2000 22:36:50 -0500 (EST)
From: Christopher Rizo <csrizo@pol.net>
Subject: Gay Suicides-CORRECTED VERSION


Gay Suicides

Chris Rizo
The California Triangle

The suicide last week of gay Mormon Henry Stuart Matis, on the steps 
of his Los Altos, California, church has raised questions about how 
to identify and help suicidal gays and lesbians.  

In a quest to protect the lives of gay youth struggling with 
questions of their sexual identity, professional crisis counselors 
suggest that compassionate church counseling is an important part of 
the solution.

Marghe Covino, board member of the Lambda Center, Sacramento's gay 
and lesbian community center said  `The same rejection and 
persecution Stewart endured is tragically common' Covino went on 
noting, `Thankfully, there are also countless survivors of the same 
torment Stewart endured.' 

In an 11 page letter written only weeks before his death, 32 year old 
Matis described a life filled with `self-hatred and internalized 
homophobia.' His family and friends say his torment was the product 
of his own struggle to reconcile his sexuality with his desire to be 
a `good Mormon.'

`Steward wanted nothing more than to be a `good Mormon,'' his close 
friend Jeanie Besamo said.  Stuart's father, Fred Matis, agreed and 
added, `Stewart struggled with being gay for 25 years and his 
struggle finally overtook him.'

Preventing suicides like that of Matis have long been the province of 
psychologists and counselors, but now clergy is faced not only with 
the spiritual lives of their congregants, but with the threat of 
suicide in their homosexual flocks.

According to Warren Blumenfeld, Editor of the International Journal 
of Sexuality and Gender Studies,  `Socially Conservative 
denominations and sects must look at their own history and 
traditions… and be willing to change their tenets.'  Otherwise, he 
said, `the suicides will continue.'   

`The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints has altered its 
position with regard to African Americans,' said one Church Elder who 
asked not to be identified. `I am confident that in the future, 
though perhaps not in the near future, our position on homosexuality 
will change as well.'

Joel Bloom, suicide prevention counselor with the Los Angeles based 
Trevor Help Line, reports they receive thousands of calls a year, 
most of which are what he called `crisis calls.' 

`The kinds of calls we get span the entire gamut, from suicidal gays 
and lesbians to gay-youth living in small towns with no resources,' 
said  Bloom.   

For Bloom, compassion is the only force that can break the cycle of 
suicide.  `If a someone is suicidal, there are reasons,' he 
said, `and rejection by their faith can be the most devastating form 
of denunciation for many.'

THE CALIFORNIA TRIANGLE
916-491-4007