Casey Cameron heard about Caleb Laieski and his new LGBT organization, Gays and Lesbians United Against Discrimination (GLUAD), last June—and the two quickly started talking on the telephone and emailing each other on a daily basis.
They discussed their experiences with LGBT activism and campaigns, and soon discovered that they had a mutual interest in the approaches needed to reach out to combat homophobia and reach out to others.
Cameron joined the GLUAD attack as its director of outreach.
Sure, they live about 1,500 miles apart as Cameron calls Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood home, while Laieski lives in Arizona. Cameron is 35. Laieski is 16. But they have one goal: aiding the LGBT community.
"As director of outreach, I work daily in tandem with Caleb in all aspects of the organization," Cameron said. "This includes goal-setting, planning, media outreach, consultation with lawyers, website development, travel, research and policy analysis. I monitor the introduction, status and progress of LGBT-related bills in the states and in Congress and consult with [Laieski] for appropriate action. Additionally, I coordinate with media outlets both locally and nationally to ensure proper coverage."
How's it been?
Very busy, Cameron said without hesitation.
"Most importantly, it has been rewarding to reach out and meet so many people," he said. "I have learned a lot of new things and look forward to the future.
"Caleb is very inspiring. He has a lot of energy and passion and is very knowledgeable on the issues. He has tremendous drive and is in it to solve problems and help people out.
"Caleb and the organization are both inspiring and rewarding. Caleb is very energetic and passionate on the issues and GLUAD goes to the source of any given situation and solves it from the ground up. It is rewarding to see that people have been helped, offered hope and schools given direction to end bullying."
After all, Cameron knows about bullying first-hand. He endured the wrath of bullies in school, particularly in seventh grade, when the big high school student was picking on the scrawny junior high kid.
"Although it wasn't specifically anti-gay, it was still humiliating and belittling," Cameron said. "I had my books knocked out of my hands, ears flicked and [was] followed down the hall with taunting. That situation was [ultimately] taken care of and the bullying ended. The critical message to send is that bullying of any kind will not be tolerated and any necessary action will be taken to make it stop."
Cameron said he doesn't even think about the near-20-year age difference between him and Laieski. "We work very well together as a team," Cameron said.
"I always look to the future and look forward to a larger role working with media, public officials and people that need help," he added. "I am consistently inspired by both Caleb and GLUAD as we have already made so many outreaches and will continue to do so in the future.
"We are always on the move and reaching out to people. I love the diversity of meeting so many other people, working with media, schools and government.
"In the short-term, we will continue reaching out to schools and individuals to ensure their safety and LGBT acceptance within the community. For the long-term, we will open homeless shelters with a focus on LGBT in other cities and expand our outreach to even more people."
