RCMP in video tell gay youth 'It Gets Better'
Video on YouTube features interviews with B.C. Mounties sharing youth struggles
B.C. RCMP who are members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community are featured in a new video created to inspire others who may have faced struggles growing up as LGBT Canadians.
The nearly 10-minute video, titled It Gets Better and released Monday as part of a special project by the same name, was put together by the RCMP Youth Unit and posted on YouTube. It features interviews with Mounties sharing their memories of growing up LGBT.
The It Gets Better Project is an international support network for LGBT youth and is endorsed by politicians, celebrities and other teens.
The project's website has over 50,000 user-created videos of people sharing their stories with positive messages.
In the RCMP's version, each Mountie tells his or her own story about being bullied as a youth and the struggles of coming out to their families.
"It was really positive actually," Cpl. Russell Olsen says. "My mum was super supportive and basically was just upset with me for the fact that she felt I was hiding myself from her.
"All she ever really wanted for me was to be happy and healthy, and be productive."
Similar videos for the campaign were released earlier this year by the San Francisco and Austin police forces.