Individually and as a community we need to protect and provide our transgender and LGBTQ+ youth with safe spaces and environments where they are free to be who they are and identify as they choose. Allowing these youth to identify by the name of their choosing, cost us nothing, but means everything to them. And that is what’s in a name – the health and well-being of transgender youth.
Mental Health in Virginia & LGBT
A recent article from the Richmond Times-Dispatch revealed some disturbing facts when it comes to mental health and youth in Virginia. According to Mental Health America, Virginia was ranked 38th among states, down from the previous ranking of 27th. A major reason for this downgrade in ranking was due to the fact that youth in the state who battle depression are less likely to receive treatment compared to other states.
Major barriers currently exist that prevent youth from receiving mental health treatment, including the fact that Virginia only spends 52% of the national average on community-based mental health care according to Bruce Cruser, Executive Director of Mental Health America of Virginia—who was quoted in the article. Currently, the Governor is exploring a number of efforts to improve access to mental health care in the state. Some of these efforts include an expansion of Medicaid and improving access to care.
Addressing mental health of youth is critically important, especially for those who identify as LGBTQ+ who are twice as likely as their peers to say they have been physically assaulted, kicked or shoved. Having one’s physical well-being at risk can have negative consequences on LGBTQ+ youth education. In fact, the latest school climate snap shot by GLSEN revealed that Virginia schools are not safe for most LGBTQ+ youth. Additionally, this impacts the mental health of LGBTQ+ youth in the following ways:
- Substance Use: Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth are more than twice as likely to experiment with drugs and alcohol.
- Happiness: Only 37% of LGBT youth report being happy, while 67% of non-LGBT youth say they are happy. However, over 80% of LGBT youth believe they will be happy eventually, with nearly half believing that they will need to move away from their current town to find happiness.
- Self-Harm: With each instance of verbal or physical harassment, the risk of self-harm among LGBT youth is 2 ½ times more likely.
- Suicide: Gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth are 4 times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual counterparts.
Mental health is a major issue that cannot be ignored, particularly as it pertains to our youth who are some of the most vulnerable. The article and aforementioned facts, demonstrate just how important it is for the community to be aware of the impact that a lack of mental health awareness and solutions can have on society. Without comprehensive solutions, the future of our youth is at stake.
Safe Space, Inc., encourages Governor Terry McAuliffe and members of the Virginia General Assembly to pay particular attention to LGBTQ+ youth when making critical decisions about how to improve mental health services for Virginia youth.
Blog was originally posted at: http://safespaceva.com/mental-health-in-virginia-lgbt-youth/
Making Sense Of The LGBT Community’s High Rates Of Substance Use
Originally posted at: http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/03/12/442903/making-sense-of-the-lgbt-communitys-high-rates-of-substance-use/
Last week, the Center for American Progress released a new issue brief on “Why the Gay and Transgender Population Experiences Higher Rates of Substance Use” and what can be done to reduce these rates. Specifically, the brief mentions that an estimated 20 to 30 percent of gay and transgender people abuse substances, compared to about 9 percent of the general population.
According to the brief, there are three main factors that contribute to these higher rates of substance use in the gay and transgender population. The first factor is minority stress that comes from social prejudice and discriminatory laws in everyday life such as employment, relationship recognition, and health care. Second, the lack of cultural competency in the health care system not only discourages gay and transgender individuals from seeking treatment, but can lead to inappropriate or irrelevant service. Finally,targeted marketing by alcohol and tobacco companies are exploiting the fact that bars and clubs are not only safe spaces for socialization for gay and transgender individuals but provide easy access to tobacco products and alcohol.
As a result, gay and transgender people turn to tobacco, alcohol, and other substances as a way to cope with the challenges. The data that are available about substance abuse show just how much of an impact this is having on the gay and transgender population. For example, gay and transgender people smoke tobacco up to 200 percent more than their heterosexual counterparts. Additionally, twenty five percent of gay and transgender people abuse alcohol, compared to 5 to 10 percent of the general population.
The brief also mentions a number of administrative and legislative recommendations that if employed could help to reduce the high rates of substance abuse within the gay and transgender population, including several outlined by the Center for American Progress last year that the Department of Health and Human Services could take. The legislative recommendations included the passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), the Housing Opportunities Made Equal Act, The Respect for Marriage Act, and the Health Equality Act.
HUD Is Taking Important Steps To Combat LGBT Homelessness
Originally Posted at: http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2011/10/14/344630/hud-is-taking-important-steps-to-combat-lgbt-homelessness/
This week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) addressed gay and transgender housing discrimination on the White House Blog. The post revealed that in a recent survey of transgender and gender non-conforming persons, 19 percent have been refused housing or an apartment and 19 percent became homeless as a result of their gender identity. A recent brief by the Center for American Progress also found that 38 percent of same-sex couples were discriminated against when attempting to buy or rent property.
The administration’s post comes on the heels of the Unites States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) 2011 annual update to Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, an interagency effort to prevent and end homelessness. Despite the fact that gay and transgender individuals were only reference once in the annual update — in the context of a collaborative effort by the Department of Education hosting the first ever gay and transgender youth summit — homelessness in this community is a serious problem.
The estimated 320,000 to 400,000 gay and transgender homeless youth face the greatest challenges. These Americans find themselves homeless for a number of factors beyond their control including a lack of supportive family or educational structures and discriminatory treatment in out-of-home care facilities. Gay and transgender youth who fall through the cracks have a hard time transiting to a successful and stable adulthood and face higher rates of workplace discrimination and poverty that only exacerbates the problem of homelessness. For example, approximately 8 to 17 percent of gay and transgender workers have reported being passed over for a job or fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Over the past two years, HUD has taken several important steps to ensure that gay and transgender person not only have equal access to housing, but HUD programs. The agency is pursing complaints from gay and transgender persons who have experienced discrimination in housing because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, conducting a nationwide study of gay and transgender housing discrimination, and has issued a rule that proposes regulatory changes to ensure that gay and transgender individuals and families have equal access to housing.
While Congress considers a legislative fix — Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) recently introduced the Housing Opportunities Made Equal Act to expand existing federal housing nondiscrimination requirements to include sexual orientation and gender identity — HUD is filling an important void in ensuring that homeless LGBT Americans are no longer invisible.
Breaking the Silence: Including the ‘B’ and ‘T’ in the Black LG Community
Originally Posted: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2011/10/07/breaking-the-silence/
“If the LG community stood up as hard and strong as they did for marriage equality, there might not be as much violence against our most vulnerable members of the community.”
—Jeffery Richardson, Director of the Office of GLBT Affairs
“Here in the District of Columbia, transgender individuals are free to be lynched.”
— Danielle King, Board Member, DC Black Pride; Chair, Capital TransPride
These are two profound statements made at a recent two-part town hall hosted by the Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs and the National Black Justice Coalition. After the town hall these statements continue to resonate with me and eat away at me. How can the Black LG community continue to largely ignore the needs and issues of our bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters?
Some would argue that we do not fight as fiercely for our bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters as we should. And I would tend to agree. I cannot even keep count of the numerous events I have gone to where the “L” and “G” are prominent and the “B” and “T” are virtually invisible. I personally take some responsibility for that. While going through my coming out process and becoming more involved in the community, I was for the most part ignorant to the issues affecting the bisexual and transgender communities. Outside of the brief moment where I thought I may have been bisexual, I know nothing about the experiences of a bisexual individual. Additionally, I barely knew anything about transgender individuals, or the issues that they faced. Thankfully, that has changed.
My experience, however, may be similar to a lot of people in the community. We tend to be in our own little bubble and do not realize there is life outside of our gay and lesbian circles. Frankly, we should be ashamed of that. The recent National Transgender Discrimination Survey revealed some eye-opening numbers about our transgender brothers and sisters and showed why we should be working hard to ensure they are included in the community. Some of the key findings include:
- Black transgender people live in extreme poverty and an astounding 34 percent have a household income of less than $10,000 a year.
- Fifty percent of Black transgender or gender nonconforming individuals have experienced harassment in school.
- Forty-six percent have experienced harassment at work.
- Fifteen percent have been physically assaulted at work.
- Thirteen percent have been sexually assaulted.
These numbers are just a small sample of the discrimination that the transgender community faces. Sadly, discrimination is not the only area in which the transgender community is affected. Black transgender individuals also face high rates of violence. Look no further than the recent rash of violence against the transgender community in the District of Columbia. Since July there have been five reported or attempted shootings of transgender women. Sadly, one of those shootings took the life of 23-year-old transgender woman Lashai McClean.
On the other hand, not much is known about the issues affecting those in the bisexual community outside of HIV/AIDS. This dearth of research and data collection has led bisexual individuals to be a silent part of the community that we need to know more about. And who can blame them for remaining silent when the larger community does not accept them and their struggles as part of the movement?
Clearly, the “L” and “G” community can do more to be more inclusive to the bisexual and transgender members of the community. We should band together to end discrimination for all members of the LGBT community. More importantly, we should all rally around each other to curb the violence against a vulnerable segment of the population. We should advocate and call for change no matter how long it takes to end senseless violence against the transgender community. In addition, we should welcome the bisexual and transgender community to the table to better understand how to advocate for and alongside them.
In essence, not being inclusive of the “B” and “T” community is the oppressed being the oppressor. It will only lead to more violence and discrimination, which will continue to rip the community further apart.
“No disrespect to the gay and transgender community”? Brother, please!
Originally posted:
DeSean Jackson, James Harrison, Kobe Bryant, and Joakim Noah—these names are certainly first synonymous with their sports prowess. Unfortunately, each of these names can be associated with homophobic remarks as well. Were their remarks ways of asserting their masculinity? Some people may say so, but that’s a topic for another time. Were they offensive? Misguided? Absolutely.
The sad part is that in 2011, Black professional athletes still have to use derogatory comments to get under other players’ skin or draw a reaction as if they are playing a game of the dozens to gain credibility on their street. They fail to realize that they are no longer young kids who are still wet behind the ears and don’t really understand that the words they utter carry profound meaning. This is not to say, however, that we should place professional athletes on a pedestal and think they will never make a mistake. Professional athletes are human after all and all humans make mistakes.
As clichéd as it may sound, with fame comes some form of responsibility to be a positive role model, no matter if one wants to be one or not. That is not to say that the person needs to change ultimately what makes them the unique person they are, but they need to be more aware of the impact their words and actions can have. This is particularly true in the Black community, where many youth idolize professional athletes and strive to be the next big star. It is not uncommon to see many Black youth wearing the sneakers their favorite athlete wears, partaking in products they endorse, or modeling their potential sports career after their favorite player. In this day and age, being a professional athlete means being a brand, a person who can appeal across racial and economic boundaries to sell products or be the spokesperson for an organization or charity. Thus it is crazy for an athlete to think they do not have any gay or transgender followers who would be offended by comments that were not meant to be “disrespectful” to the gay and transgender community.
More importantly, Black professional athletes like DeSean Jackson are sending mixed signals when they stand up for a bullied individual in one breath and then make derogatory and offensive comments about a community that suffers from high rates of bullying in another. Fortunately, not all Black professional athletes send mixed messages. Figures like Michael Irving and Grant Hill understand the importance of their words and the weight they carry, and have come out in support of gay and transgender rights. If nothing else, Black professional athletes need to understand that when they use “gay” or “faggot” in an unsavory manner, they will be viewed as homophobic, especially in the gay and transgender community.
These words are particularly harmful for Black gay and transgender youth who are struggling to fight homophobia within the Black community and create a self-identity. That is why Black professional athletes need to think of just how powerful a message they can send by speaking up to protect gay and transgender individuals from homophobia, discrimination, and violence by leading the way to a more inclusive society. Being bold and asserting their voice in a positive manner will be more appreciated than obligatory statements of saying their comments were “not meant to disrespect the gay and transgender community.”