It’s called the Ally program.

For however far we’d like to think that we have come in the acceptance of gay lifestyles, we really haven’t come that far at all. Oh, an occasional celebrity might “come out” to make the movement chic and legitimate, but in the real world, that moment of coming to terms with one’s homosexuality often is a life-altering event characterized more by alienation than by acceptance.

Families don’t always understand. Some friends get distant. It’s an indoctrination to difficult emotions and often harsh judgments and awkward transitions. To stereotypes and issues, really tough issues.

For six years, the Ally program has functioned at Northeast High as a support system and “ally” to address all this — as an outlet for any student, whether gay, straight, lesbian or bisexual, to promote understanding and make a case for equality.

With all the educational challenges that face city schools, it’d be easy to dismiss this program as a trendy frill. However, as more youngsters in the classroom struggle with sexual orientations outside the mainstream, even the School District of Philadelphia has taken note of violent clashes and episodes of persecution, and policies have been instituted as a buffer of protection.

Policies are OK, but they don’t change attitudes, which is why the district wisely went a step further in the late ’90s when it invited the Mazzoni Center, a health agency that aids the homosexual community, to establish the Ally concept.

The disappointing thing, however, is that of five public high schools in the Northeast, only Northeast High has adopted the program, which has been available since 1998.

Others should demonstrate the courage to make room for it. Ally doesn’t exist to promote a sexual lifestyle. It is a much-needed friend for teenagers coming to terms with the choice. ••