WORCESTER, Mass. — Growing up, Taryn Fernacz didn’t have a mentor or someone to look up to. They had to navigate through life themselves, working alone through personal journeys like sexual and gender identities. They didn’t come out until their first relationship with a girl.

This feeling — of feeling alone, unsure of who they were, with no one to lean on — was one that Fernacz didn’t want anyone to experience. And so, as an adult, they looked for an opportunity to mentor someone in a similar situation.

Through an online Worcester community queer group, Fernacz found Northborough-based based GSA Link, an organization that connects LGBTQ+ youth with LGBTQ+ peers and adult mentors as they develop mutually positive relationships and build community.

“I saw the need within the community with LGBTQ youths,” said Melissa Clark, president of GSA Link. “There was an incredible need for LGBTQ youths to have a positive, loving, accepting adult in their life. A lot of youth we serve in particular don’t have a positive role model in their life.”

And so, Fernacz filled out a survey, which led to mentor training through a partnership with Mass Mentoring. They were then paired up with Mai Lord, who has been part of the organization for two years.

Lord grew up in a church, they said, where people didn’t understand or accept their sexuality. They had tried to find a mentor a year before she met Fernacz, but when COVID-19 hit, the program was put on hold. But when they were paired up with Fernacz, the wait seemed meant to be. 

“It was a little bit frustrating because I was excited,” Lord said. “But at that point in time, Taryn wasn’t part of the group. And I wouldn’t rather have anyone else. They are amazing for me. They taught me so much, without even a lesson.”

Each GSA Link mentorship pair gets an email each week with activity ideas and talking point suggestions. Each pair can take from it what they need.

“We had enough to talk about,” Lord said, adding that they and Fernacz would find their own activities and bond, even virtually at the start of their mentoring relationship. “It’s nice to have a mentor to help you navigate not only your sexuality but also that they’re friendly.”

Lord says their early virtual meetings made the mentorship relationship stronger, which Clark touts.

“Having the ability for mentors and mentees to be in the comfort of their own homes, not necessarily needing to rely on other people for rides, it’s just been amazing,” Clark said. “We’ve been able to serve people out of state, and we will continue to keep things virtual with the option of meeting in person when it is safe to do that.”

Lord and Fernacz have made mood boards, gone to restaurants and just talked. One of the most memorable experiences for the two was finding an outfit for Lord’s baccalaureate events at their high school.

“Because we couldn’t see each other for most of the year, once we both got vaccinated, we went to Blackstone Valley,” Fernacz said. Lord shopped in person in the men’s section for the first time.

“I was actually scared because I didn’t want people to look at me weird, but Taryn was there to help me, and they gave me confidence,” Lord said. “I’m happy with it. Taryn hyped me up. It made me feel so happy with what I was going to wear.”

Beyond Fernacz and Lord, there are about 20 other pairs within the GSA Link mentorship program, according to Clark. This is the second year of the program.

“The program looks different for every match,” Fernacz said. “What we’ve done is different from what other pairs have done. Mai and I are ten years apart. There are other people who are closer to my age, but their mentee is in middle school. It’s a really interesting intergenerational intention.”

The need, Clark says, is acute.

“To have a program that is designed for LGBTQ+ youth, to support LGBTQ+ youth, is beyond important,” Clark said. “A lot of the LGBTQ+ youth in the community do not have the support or the support that they need. We’re providing them a beneficial relationship with a trusting, caring LGBTQ+ adult.”