FDNY Releases 'It Gets Better' Video In Support Of LGBT Youth
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The FDNY released its first ever "It Gets Better" video directed at LGBT youth Sunday.
Sunday marks National Coming Out Day, a day of awareness and celebration for the LGBT community. The FDNY released the video as part of the It Gets Better Project, effort to communicate to LGBT youth that life gets better, and to inspire changes to improve their quality of life, the FDNY said in a news release.
"As firefighters, paramedics and EMTs in the most diverse city in the world, FDNY members have the tremendous opportunity to inspire young people through their brave work every single day," Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in the release. "Through this video, they deliver an important message to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth around the world -- it absolutely does get better."
The "It Gets Better Project" was created in 2010 by syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage and his husband, Terry Miller. It was developed in response to a number of students who were taking their own lives after being bullied at school, according to the website for the project.
"With their It Gets Better video, the brave men and women of the FDNY have made a powerful statement in support of LGBT youth," Brett M. Peters, Director of Communications for the It Gets Better Project, said in the release. "By fostering such a welcoming community in the workplace, the FDNY is helping lead the way in encouraging LGBT young people to be whoever they want to be."
The It Gets Better Project has inspired more than 50,000 user-created videos since it began, according to the project website.
