Description
It is essential that adults working with people with diverse genders and sexual diversities have the skills and knowledge to open the conversation, use language that promotes dignity, offer effective allyship in internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural interactions and offer strength-based supports that are informed by evidence. Practitioners have a role in ensuring supportive relationships for 2SLGBTQI youth, facilitating family affirmation, advocating when youth need to transition, using pronouns and names to build health, responding appropriately to discrimination trauma, and advocating for systemic change. It’s a big job, but the positive mental and physical health impacts are documented.
This online, interactive 6-hour training will be an opportunity to practice skills and plan practical steps to address trauma experienced by 2SLGBTQI young people and to share strategies for supporting youth who are “inviting in” (new language for “coming out”), in transition, or trying to navigate erasure, rejection, or unsafe home environments.
This online training has significant opportunities for interaction, so registrants do not need any prior knowledge or experience, but should come prepared to interact, communicate and share ideas.
Learning Outcomes
- Use language that promotes dignity, including affirming gender pronouns, appropriate use of gender inclusive language, and reviewing intake forms, questions and interactions for relevance, representation and promoting youth agency.
- Employ strength-based supports that are informed by evidence to affirm people with gender and sexual diversities.
- Implement effective communication with allyship to 2SLGBTQI people in internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural interactions.
- Outline helpful and evidence-based resources to build awareness within organizations and communities.
Who Should Attend
This training is most suitable for staff who work with youth, as well as foster parents or those working in foster care. Individuals who support a child and youth organization administratively, or who provide 2SLGBTQI leadership or support within an organization, including HR, supervisory staff or internal committees related to creating space that is safer for gender and sexual diversity.
Course Format
This online course is delivered as 2 three-hour interactive virtual sessions using Zoom.