A monthly gay radio show on Kapiti and Horowhenua's Coast Access Radio 104.9FM aims to educate and entertain the local community, says its host.
"We've been going for a few months now, with a range of in-studio guests," says presenter Steve Green.
"I had the idea for it when a friend of mine told me about her son's 15-year-old friend at school, who had a hard time finding friends as some parents banned their sons from seeing him in case 'he'd make them gay'. The young man had then gone onto the internet and had a very bad experience with someone he met there."
Green says he named the half-hour show G.A.Y. to "spell it out" that young people can be successful and happy. "it also shows to parents that it's not bad to be gay. The aim is to bring people in to tell their stories."
On the next show, planned for Sunday 17th May at 3pm, Green will interview 20-year-old Thomas Dorreen, who is studying to be a primary school teacher at Victoria University.
The programme plays three times in a single week, one week in every four, so the programme on Sunday 17th May repeats the following Tuesday at 9pm and Thursday at 5pm. The subsequent weeks will be 14 June, 11 July, 9 August, 6 September, 4 October, 1 November and 29 November.
