Rilee Prebensen, Karamu High School transgender student.
Rilee Prebensen, Karamu High School transgender student.
Most high school students look forward to the weekend.
However, there is a growing number that prefer Wednesdays.
Corners is a peer support group for LGBTIQ+ youth aged 14-18 which meets fortnightly on Wednesdays at the Heretaunga Women's Centre in Hastings, where people of any gender can attend after 4pm.
Tamatea High School student Sydney Booth says the group was started by youth counsellor Jacqueline Chartrand-Glenn, who felt the need for something "more to our needs".
"That's the purpose - the support is there if you need it.
"It's mostly so we can have a safe space to hang out, calm down and meet other people that are like us."
Sydney has a large group of friends who identify on the wide spectrum of sexual preferences .
"We went through them once and there's almost one for every letter of the alphabet." She says the group is trying to find people who "have the courage to be open about it or feel OK to visit the group".
"A lot of schools have started them so there's lots of opportunities at school. Corners is not inside the school so there's no school rules - we get to make all the rules."
Sydney Booth, a student at Tamatea High School.
Although the group has had a speaker in to talk about sexual health, Sydney says they usually meet and talk about "what's gone bad or good or anything we're proud of since last time".
"Most of the time we talk and forget about the time and often go half an hour over."
Tamatea High School principal Robin Fabish says the group needs to be something they drive themselves.
"It's not about us pushing what we think is the best way to do stuff."
Karamu High School's Rilee Prebensen, who is transitioning to become male, says his school has also been very supportive since 'coming out' at the end of last year.
"I haven't had any negative comments at all - they've been really cool," he says.
Rilee also belongs to the Corners group, which he describes as a safe place to talk about what's going on.
"It's very casual. I reckon there's support if you know where to look - you can flock around them."
Rilee says his journey so far has been a "big road".
"I was always a tomboy and during puberty I didn't feel right. I started noticing things about my body. I didn't like thinking about my future. I was always a guy - I couldn't see myself being a female."
He says 18 months ago he "figured it out", came out to everyone, got a haircut and began dressing in more masculine way. He underwent an assessment before beginning medication to help his transition. Rilee has his sights set high, studying science at school and hoping to become an astrophysicist.
"But ideally, I would like to be a normal guy."
Corners support group, Heretaunga Women's Centre, every second Wednesday, 4pm, corner Russell and Eastbourne Streets, Hastings. For information: Facebook or tuataracounsellingservices@hotmail.com
