Our good friends at MassResistance have published a disturbing letter, originally sent to Mike Heath of Christian Civic League of Maine, from a young man who was active as a teenager/high school student with a group called “OUT!…As I Want to Be“ (we’ve linked to a cached website since the actual website has been taken out of service). This young man courageously discloses “negligence and abuse” by OUT staff and student leadership.

Excerpts from the letter follow (emphasis ours). Pray for Adam Flanders as he tries to pull his life together.

Jan 13, 2007

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Adam Flanders. I am 20 years old and a current resident of Belfast, Maine. I am writing to you on behalf of my own concerns, as well as the concerns of other youth members and past members (who wish to remain anonymous) of the nonprofit organization, OUT! … As I Want to Be located in Rockland, Maine. We wish to inform you of the negligence and abuse of OUT advisors and adult members…

OUT has since been mismanaged in many ways, but I (we) wish to inform you of the apparent negligence of the adult advisors and board members resulting in the emotional distress, abuse, and harm brought to youth members as young as fourteen years old. We can only speak from personal experience, and since I am the only individual willing to reveal my identity, I will begin with my personal experience of OUT and I will then summarize the complaints of those individuals who wish to remain anonymous.