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In This Issue:
- Community Corner
- Resources for Families
- Practical Tools
- Webinars
- Announcements
- Articles/Research
- Policy News
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Today is Intersex Awareness Day | |
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In recognition of Intersex Awareness Day, we are sharing two recorded sessions on supporting intersex individuals from the Center of Excellence on LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health Equity. Part one, All About the I: Intersex Inclusion, provides an overview of issues impacting individuals with intersex variations, with guidance for service providers on how to support individuals and families as they navigate systems of care. (CECs available). Part two, All About the I: Intersex Intersectionality, is a panel discussion speaking to the experiences and needs of intersex individuals with diverse racial, ethnic, religious, sexual orientation and gender backgrounds, and diverse roles within the intersex community (as a healthcare consumer, an advocate, an ally, and a healthcare provider). Watch here
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Important Opportunity: Apply for AFFIRM Adult! | |
 |  | AFFIRM Adult is an evidence-based, eight module, manualized coping skills training intervention focused on reducing mental health issues and behavioral risks experienced by LGBTQ+ populations. AFFIRM Adult has been effective with diverse LGBTQ+ adults across a range of settings (e.g., behavioral health clinics, health care centers, LGBTQ+ community centers). We have opened the 2024 application cycle to become an Official AFFIRM Adult Site. This opportunity is for mental and behavioral health organizations serving LGBTQ+ adults. If selected, sites will be awarded free training and comprehensive coaching, which includes the 3-Day Virtual AFFIRM Adult Training, a Quality Learning Collaborative, and purveyor-led coaching sessions for all trained therapists at your site. If you are interested in learning more about the AFFIRM Adult model and the application process, please enroll in the Becoming an AFFIRM Adult Site course. This 50-minute video will walk you through the model’s components, the needs for the population, and the details on how to apply. You may also download the AFFIRM Adult 2-pager for more information on the model. If interested in applying, please download the AFFIRM Therapists Form and the AFFIRM Adult Application. Applications can be emailed to LGBTQEquity@uconn.edu. Learn more & apply here!
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Community Corner is a place where you can share news about the work you are doing with young people with diverse SOGIE (sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression). To submit information about your program to be highlighted in this newsletter, please email SOGIECenter@uconn.edu. heinstitute@ssw.umaryland.edu. | MI Addresses LGBTQ+ Health Disparities with Historic $10 Million Award | |
Earlier this year, a broad coalition of Michigan LGBTQ+ leaders collaborated in seeking state funding to help decrease health disparities experienced by Michigan's 400,000+ LGBTQ+ residents. On Aug. 24, they celebrated success. Their efforts resulted in $10 million being earmarked in the state's 2023-2024 budget to reduce those disparities, the first state investment of its kind. The funds will directly support the work of community-based organizations that are already providing health-related services to LGBTQ+ Michiganders. Younger LGBTQ+ populations endure health disparities, as well. In Detroit, the Ruth Ellis Center provides trauma-informed services to LGBTQ+ youth and young adults with an emphasis on young people of color as well as young people who are experiencing homelessness, involved in the child welfare system, or experiencing barriers to health and well-being. Learn more
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Guide to Online Safety for LGBTQ+ Young People | |
This October, we ask you to take the time to help an LGBTQ+ young person participate in online spaces in safe and positive ways. The Trevor Project and their partner Gen (a global company with a family of trusted Cyber Safety brands including Norton, Avast and more), have collaborated on a timely new Guide to Online Safety for LGBTQ+ Young People, allowing young people and parents to explore positive ways to build community on social media and the internet while mitigating the risks of bullying, scams, and other dangers. Check out the guide and consider sharing it with the young people in your life. Learn more
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5 Ways You Can Help Youth Cope With an Anti-LGBTQ+ Climate | |
| |  | October is LGBTQ+ History Month. Unfortunately, the past three years will go down in history as a giant step backward for LGBTQ+ civil rights, as hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ laws have been introduced in state legislatures across the United States. Many of these laws ban gender-affirming health care for transgender youth and restrict LGBTQ+ affirming school policies. This legislation attempts to interfere with gold standards of medical care, strip LGBTQ+ people of their civil rights, and create school climates that are hostile to LGBTQ+ students. Even when laws attempt to solve problems that don’t exist, they are insulting and still do harm by sowing misinformation, fear, hatred, and divisiveness. If you are the parent, relative, teacher, physician, or mentor of a child or teen who identifies as LGBTQ+, you may be particularly concerned about anti-LGBTQ+ laws and the hostile climate they create and reflect. Tweens and teenagers in particular are more likely than younger children to have access to news and social media, making them more aware of school restrictions; this age group is also more affected by health care legislation. But your understanding and compassion can make a difference. Trevor Project surveys also show that LGBTQ+ youth report better mental health when they feel seen, heard, affirmed, and supported. Here are five conversations you can have with LGBTQ+ youth to help them gain a more balanced perspective and hopeful outlook. Note that these conversations can be had with any youngster who is concerned about this hostile climate and its effects on LGBTQ+ friends and schoolmates. Learn more
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Healthy Relationships: Bodies, Dating, & Sex: A 6 Week Course for Trans/Nonbinary Teenagers
Wednesdays, November 8 - December 13, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. ET | Virtual
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Trans Families is SO excited to be able to offer another round of their virtual course for trans/nonbinary teenagers Healthy Relationships: Bodies, Dating & Sex. This six-week series covers topics like boundaries, consent, pleasure, disclosure, anatomy, and more.
Enrollment is limited.
- Are you interested in dating, but don’t know how to start?
- Unsure how to talk about sex?
- Do you wish you had learned about trans bodies in anatomy class?
- Questions about safer sex and pregnancy for trans people?
- Are you still wondering what your values are around sex and dating?
Cost: $175 | Financial Accessibility: Please use ‘coupon code’ Healthy20 if you need it!. Register now
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Keep Your Head Up: A Virtual Wellness Toolkit | |
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It’s been an extraordinarily difficult year for LGBTQ+ youth – and that’s why the Campaign for Southern Equality is honored to publish a new offering to support the healing and resilience of young people in the South "Keep Your Head Up: A Virtual Wellness Toolkit". As a part of their work to support transgender folks in the South, Campaign for Southern Equality has led wellness workshops in states where gender-affirming care for youth has been banned. These workshops create a space where trans people, their families, and allies can process emotions and heal together, while learning about resources and building community. The virtual wellness toolkit has this same intention – and can be accessed anytime, anywhere. Download now
| Coming Out: A Handbook for LGBTQ+ Young People | |
October 11th was National Coming Out Day! For a young person, exploring sexual orientation and/or gender identity can bring up a lot of feelings and questions. Inside this handbook, you will explore your identity, what it might be like to share your identity with others, and provide you with tools and guiding questions to help you think about what coming out means to you. Download now
| A Toolbox to Help Programs Serve LGBTQ+ Relationships Effectively | |
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A new toolkit from the Marriage Strengthening Research & Dissemination Center provides recommendations for making existing healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) programming more inclusive and relevant for LGBTQ+ couples and families. The toolkit also details key facts about LGBTQ+ relationships, reviews LGBTQ+-inclusive terminology, and explores research on some of the key stressors and sources of resilience and thriving for LGBTQ+ couples. Download here
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Collaborative Learning Session on Working With Rural LGBTQ+ Clients
Tues, Nov 14, 2:30 - 4:00p.m. ET
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Rural providers from across the country are invited to engage in an interactive discussion around shared experiences and issues related to supporting LGBTQIA+ individuals living in rural areas. Bring your questions and challenges from the field! As a learning community, there will be time for discussion and collaboration as we continue to improve quality mental health care for LGBTQ+ clients and their families from rural areas. This event is hosted by the Innovations Institute's Center of Excellence on LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health Equity in partnership with the University of Utah. Register now
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Building the Sexual & Gender Diversity Learning Community: Using LGBTQ+ Research to Support Multilevel Interventions for Mental Health Professionals
Recorded Webinar | CECs Available!
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 | | The Sexual and Gender Diversity Learning Community was cultivated by the University of Maryland Prevention Research Center to address the lack of competency within the mental health field and is committed to the better-quality care and treatment of LGBTQ+ people. Within this session, the team will discuss the creation of their Individual and Organizational Assessments, Training Workshop, Clinical Consultations, Technical Assistance Sessions, and Simulated Client Experience as multilevel interventions used to address the needs of both individual practitioners and organizational level administrators to better serve their clients. This session is for any participant interested in learning more about how to enrich their practice by recognizing the intersections of LGBTQ+ identity, mental health and research through evidence-based interventions. This webinar is a collaboration between the nnovations Institute's Center of Excellence on LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health Equity in partnership with the University of Maryland Prevention Research Center.
Watch now: CEC Version
Watch now: Non-credit Version
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Important Resource Sharing Hour: Tools for Supporting LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health
Wednesday, December 6, 1:30-2:30 p.m. ET
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During this one-hour session, the Director of the Center of Excellence will be sharing favorite resources that have been created over the course of 3 years. These resources will cover important tools for serving LGBTQ+ people across the lifespan. Participants will also be able to submit resource requests and will receive available resources in real time during the session. Register now
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Transgender Law Center’s Disability Project Launches First Ever Disabled & Deaf Trans People Survey |
| |  | The Transgender Law Center’s Disability Project has launched the Disabled & Deaf Trans People’s Survey (DTPS). The DTPS is a survey created by and for disabled and Deaf trans people to gather and share knowledge about disabled and Deaf trans peoples’ needs, experiences, and priorities. Particularly centering Black disabled and Deaf trans people and trans people of color who are disabled and Deaf, the survey seeks to fill longstanding gaps in research on the perspectives of disabled and Deaf trans community members. “Disabled and Deaf trans people are strong, diverse, and resilient, and we’re creating opportunities to showcase our experiences. Ableism is woven into our everyday systems, yet we have been overlooked in research and left out of many social justice movements,” said Ericka A. Dixon (they/them), Disability Project Senior National Organizer. “From this data, we will create opportunities for our leadership and momentum to tell our collective story and fight for our rights and needs.” The DTPS is available at https://dtpsurvey.org/ for public participation through December 1, 2023. Learn more
| Resource Alert! Information on Federal Funding to Support LGBTQ+ Children, Youth, Young Adults, & Families | |
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On June 30, 2024, states, territories, and tribes participating in the Title IV-B program will submit a new Child and Family Services Plan, a five-year plan outlining how child welfare agencies will provide a continuum of coordinated child welfare services for federal fiscal years 2025-2029. This new resource by the Children’s Bureau outlines how child welfare agencies can use federal funds to support the provision of services, interventions, and supports to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, and Two-Spirit children, youth, young adults, and their families/ caregivers. It also discusses ways to support training for the child welfare workforce, as well as foster and adoptive parents. Learn more
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Deciphering Anti-Trans Disinformation in a Culture of Hate
Saturdays, December 2 & 9, 12pm - 3pm ET
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This workshop with presenter Jenn Burleton of TransActive Gender Project will examine the escalation of anti-trans hate, legislation, and activities directed at transgender, nonbinary, and Two-Spirit children, youth, and adults; explore how such rhetoric can intensify existing trauma in these populations; and discuss similarities to other historical tactics of oppression used against minority populations. Those working with trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive populations will learn to better identify and decipher anti-trans disinformation, and will identify evidence-based approaches to supporting and affirming gender-expansive clients, students, and families. Learn more
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Parents of Gender Diverse Youth: Support Sought, Received, & Still Needed | |
Gender diverse youth (GDY) have improved mental health when affirmed by parents, but little is known about the support parents of GDY seek, receive, and still need. This qualitative study explored experiences of parents of GDY to better understand their support needs. In this study, parents of GDY submitted videos and were interviewed about their journey supporting their GDY. Parents identified numerous ways they sought, received, and needed support to understand and affirm their GDY. These findings will aid development of targeted support interventions for parents of GDY. Further research is needed to evaluate the impact of these interventions on GDY health. Learn more
| Integrating LGBTQ+ Community Perspectives into Medical Education | |
LGBTQ+ people have unique health care needs related to their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex development. However, medical education has historically excluded LGBTQ+ health-related content in formal curricula. Learning from and listening to medically underserved community members can help both medical students and educators better understand the unique health needs of these communities, and address implicit biases to improve health care and outcomes for their patients. In this study, LGBTQ+ community members' perspectives and lived experiences were integrated into medical education at Harvard Medical School (HMS) as part of the HMS Sexual and Gender Minority Health Equity Initiative. Based on these experiences, recommendations are made for integrating LGBTQIA + community members' perspectives into medical education. Learn more
| Bogus, Harmful 'Conversion Therapy' for LGBTQ+ People Still Prevalent | |
In the United States, "conversion therapy" for LGBTQ+ people has been widely condemned by major medical associations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians. 22 states and Washington, D.C., have passed legislation banning conversion therapy for minors, and another five states have partial bans on the books. On the other hand, 19 states have no state law or policy limiting the practice, and three other states have bans that are blocked due to ongoing court battles. The result is that nearly 3 in 10 American LGBTQ+ youth between the ages of 13 and 17 reside in jurisdictions that permit the practice, according to the Family Equality Council. Read more
| Gender-Sexuality Alliance Meetings Predict Hope Among LGBTQ+ Youth | |
Hope is considered a marker of resilience among youth facing oppression, including LGBTQ+ youth. This 8-week weekly diary study among 94 LGBTQ+ youth considered whether a youth's meeting-to-meeting experiences in Gender-Sexuality Alliances (GSAs; LGBTQ+ affirming school clubs) predicted subsequent hope from week to week. Youth reported greater hope on days following meetings where they felt more group support, greater advisor responsiveness, and had taken on more leadership responsibilities. Group support and advisor responsiveness were stronger predictors of a youth's hope on days closer to GSA meetings. Findings suggest how GSAs may cultivate hope among LGBTQ+ youth. Read more
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New Report Details Dramatic Increase in Attempts to Silence & Punish Supporters of LGBTQ+ Equality |
 | | Opponents of LGBTQ+ equality have dramatically increased their efforts to silence and punish supporters of LGBTQ+ people, according to a new report from the Movement Advancement Project (MAP). The report, Silencing Supporters of LGBTQ+ People, is the final in MAP’s report series, Under Fire: The War on LGBTQ+ People in America. “Americans support LGBTQ+ equality, and our opponents know this. That’s why they are working to create the false perception of lower support by scaring people into silence,” said Naomi Goldberg, Deputy Director and LGBTQ+ Program Director at MAP. “Their attempts to bully, fine, and punish virtually anyone who supports LGBTQ+ people is just one tactic in their larger strategy. As our report series makes clear, their ultimate goal is to keep LGBTQ+ people from being able to live openly and participate in daily life.” State legislatures introduced more than 725 anti-LGBTQ bills this year alone – shattering previous records. Many of these bills introduce a range of penalties for supporters of LGBTQ+ people. This report identifies three core tactics opponents are using in their attempts to silence supporters of LGBTQ+ people. Learn more
| Resource Hub: S.B. 49, North Carolina’s ‘Don’t Say LGBTQ’ Law | |
Senate Bill 49, also known as North Carolina’s “Don’t Say LGBTQ+” bill, was enacted in August 2023 following the NCGA’s override of Governor Roy Cooper’s veto. The anti-LGBTQ+ curriculum censorship and school policy law is a cruel attack on LGBTQ+ students and educators. Its implementation is currently being determined by individual school districts in North Carolina, and it’s up to all of us to push back, speak out, and take action against this shameful law. Read more
| Philadelphia Will Become a Sanctuary City for Gender-Affirming Care |
 | | Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney recently declared the city a safe haven for those seeking gender-affirming care. The executive order will ban the use of city resources in investigations that would punish anyone seeking gender-affirming care in the city. Additionally, the order makes gender-affirming care available to people in city jails. Many places that have become safe havens have made it clear they will not work with out-of-state law enforcement officials looking to punish those who travel to receive legal healthcare. Cities that have declared themselves safe havens include Ithaca, New York; New York City; Lawrence, Kansas; and Kansas City, Missouri. Minnesota, Washington, New York, Colorado, and California are also among the 11 states (plus Washington D.C.) that have passed laws declaring the entire state a safe haven for gender-affirming care. Three additional states – Arizona, Maryland, and New Jersey – have passed executive orders declaring the same. A statement from the Endocrine Society said that gender-affirming care bans “do not reflect the research landscape. More than 2,000 scientific studies have examined aspects of gender-affirming care since 1975.” Learn more
| For more information on gender-affirming care, best practices, and federal guidance, please visit the Center of Excellence on LGBTQ+ Behavioral Health Equity Resource Page on Supporting Trans Youth. | | | | |
