Many high schools and colleges are forming groups to deal with such issues. Counselors are focusing on assisting the community with the struggles of identifying themselves as homosexual and transgendered. There is more focus on dealing with harassment, disclosing information to family members, and violence due to sexual orientation. These are great options for those willing to seek help, however others may find it difficult to seek help and advice regarding their sexual orientation, let alone if they have a serious substance abuse problem. It's a never ending cycle. For example, the local university that I attended did have a LGBT group; however most of the members participated in drug use. We all have the ability to say no- but when you're seeking friendships or relationships it's extremely hard to find members of the LGBT community that are substance free. Not everyone will have the same experiences and hopefully you or your homosexual friends have great circles of positive reinforcement. Sadly, from experience this is not always the case. Preventing substance abuse among the LGBT community is going to take an abundance of effort. Just listening as a friend when anyone (regardless of their sexual orientation) has an issue is definitely a start. Just knowing you have friends and relatives that are not disapproving of the homosexual and transgendered lifestyle means more than most realize.