On a recent Thursday evening, about a dozen teenagers from across Alamance County gathered at The Blend & Co., the coffee shop in downtown Burlington.

They immediately delved into the issues that LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) students face at their respective schools, particularly the challenges that they have faced in starting and maintaining a school-based group for them:

-Lack of resources;

-Lack of or tepid support from administrators and fellow students;

-Outright opposition;

-Fliers announcing meeting dates torn off the walls;

-Difficulty finding a place to meet;

-Difficulty maintaining membership; and

-Simply being an LGBT teen in conservative Alamance County.

To be sure, as a whole, the Alamance-Burlington School System is ahead of the curve when it comes to policy. A study released in 2015 by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network said that less than half of U.S. school districts have anti-bullying policies that include sexual orientation, and fewer that include gender identity.

In 2010, ABSS adopted an anti-bullying policy that includes sexual orientation and identity. Private and charter schools set their own policies. For its part, Clover Garden School, a charter school, has an anti-bullying policy that includes sexual orientation and gender identity.

A’Zane Troxler, a student there, helped form the school’s Gay/Straight Alliance. Even with the policy, "it was a really brave thing for club members to meet," she said. "It can feel kind of scary, but since I have done it, I have gotten a lot respect from my classmates."

THE STUDENTS ARE meeting the challenges head-on. To that end, they are looking outside their respective schools. Led by Sayer Kirk, a student at Williams High School, they have started a new group, called “Queer Fish” (a play on the term “odd duck.”)

The purpose of the group is to have a social and support system for Alamance County LGBT youth, and find a brick-and-mortar space that would be a hub of activity, a place where the LGBT teens can feel safe and supported. A place to read and hang out. A place to socialize and to hear educational speakers.

Kirk came out last year.

“I am gay, and there wasn’t anywhere for me to find other queer teens,” Kirk said. “I want to meet people outside of school.”

Her neighbors are David Carter and Ken Smith, president of Alamance Pride, which holds an annual festival in Burlington. She approached them about forming a group, and they agreed to help. The Queer Fish Center had its first meeting last month at the Company Shops Market.

The teens who gathered at The Blend & Co. were there to form a board and come up with a list of goals and ideas for the new group. Its mission: to provide safety, support, learning and leadership.

One of the first goals: raise $750 so the group can file for nonprofit status. The group set up a Go Fund Me page and as of Wednesday had raised $250.

The group will have a benefit concert for all ages from 7 to 10 p.m. March 26 at the The Pinhook, 117 W. Main St., Durham. The group also is selling T-shirts that feature its logo.

THERE WAS A time when the idea for the Queer Fish Center would have been unthinkable. Alamance County just had its first gay pride festival in 2015, long after surrounding cities had started holding their own.

And LGBT issues are still very controversial — just look at HB2.

Kirk says there is more progress to be made.

“Especially now, with the change in administration, LGBT teens need somewhere that they can go to find people like them, people that they can relate to and talk to,” she wrote on the Queer Fish Center’s Facebook page. “LGBT people everywhere are scared, but we can get through this, we just need to keep fighting and fight together.”

Reporter Bill Cresenzo can be reached at bcresenzo@thetimesnews.com or 336-506-3041. Follow him on Twitter at @BillCresenzoTN.