Family Counseling and Support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex+ Youth and Their Families (Short Title: LGBTQI+ Family Support) - Project Summary: Western Michigan University’s Child Trauma Assessment Center (WMU/CTAC), in collaboration with OutFront Kalamazoo, OutCenter Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo Family and Child Counseling, Michigan Safe Space, Integrated Services of Kalamazoo (ISK) Community Mental Health, Behavioral Health Services, and Pam Poley, LMSW, seeks funding through SAMHSA’s LGBTQI+ Family Support Grant to implement the pilot project Affirming and Accepting LGBTQIA+ Youth and Families (AALF) in Southwest Michigan (SW MI). This project will prevent health and behavioral risks and promote wellbeing for LGBTQI+ youth in Michigan in the context of their families/caregivers, cultures, and communities by establishing LGBTQI+ family counseling and support programs and training providers on family counseling and support interventions. Population of Focus: The population of focus for this project are LGBTQI+ youth and their families/caregivers in the 8-county geographic catchment area of the following counties in SW MI; Allegan, Barry, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and Van Buren. This area is home to 811,320 people who are 82.6% white, 6.66% black, 1.63% Asian, 0.62% AI/AN, 2.96% other, and 6.92% multiple races. Data from the Trevor Project’s 2022 National Survey estimates the following demographics for LGBTQI+ youth in Michigan; 70% white, 6% black, 3% Asian, 1%, AI/AN, 7% other, and 13% multiple races; 31% identify as a girl/woman, 26% identify as a boy/man, 35% identify as nonbinary, bigender, genderfluid, and genderqueer, and 8% identify as questioning; 24% are gay or lesbian, 31% are bisexual, 32% are queer or pansexual, 10% are asexual, and 3% are questioning. The survey also reported that 60% of this demographic wanted mental health care in the past year and were not able to get it, and 45% of this demographic seriously considered suicide in the past year. Goals and Objectives: The goal of AALF is to prevent or ameliorate the development of serious mental health and substance abuse conditions and disorders and build healthy futures for LGBTQI+ youth by increasing family acceptance and support in SW MI. To fulfill this goal, WMU/CTAC will; (1) Develop and implement a public awareness communications plan to engage families of LGBTQI+ youth in SW MI; (2) Provide outreach and engagement to LGBTQI+ youth/families in SI MI through steps identified in the public awareness and communications plan to link them to trauma-informed counseling and supports through CTAC and its partners; (3) Develop and implement screening and referral protocols to identify LGBTQI+ youth and their families who are in need of counseling services; (4) Identify and coordinate referral pathways with the 8 AALF community-based service providers for LGBTQI+ youth in SW MI; (5) Develop and implement a training and workforce development plan for CTAC personnel for the Family Acceptance Project (FAP), AFFIRM Caregiver and AFFIRM Youth EBPs; (6) Begin the implementation of FAP and AFFIRM Caregiver/Youth to promote acceptance of LGBTQI+ youth; (7) Enhance the existing LGBTQI+ youth and family advisory group to ensure that membership is representative of youth, their families, and services across the continuum; and (8) Develop and implement training in integrating trauma-informed care. Contact: Amy Perricone, Clinical Director for WMU/CTAC; amy.l.perricone@wmich.edu
