Latest / 20-Minute Health Talk / How safe spaces save LGBTQ lives and what parents, schools and communities can do to create them

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How safe spaces save LGBTQ lives and what parents, schools and communities can do to create them · 20-Minute Health Talk

• 0:04
  The challenges that we're seeing
• 0:05
  for LGBT youth are enormous.
• 0:07
  And what's really important is
• 0:09
  not only that we identify
• 0:10
  that the problem exists,
• 0:12
  but we really then talk about
• 0:13
  what we can do and what next
• 0:15
  steps we need to look at about
• 0:16
  how we can help address the
• 0:17
  mental health disparities that
• 0:19
  are occurring within the
• 0:19
  LGBT population.
• 0:24
  Hello,
• 0:24
  and welcome to 20 Minutes Health
• 0:25
  Talk. I'm Rob Hoell,
• 0:27
  sitting in for Sandra Lindsay.
• 0:28
  This is the third and final
• 0:30
  episode in our series on child
• 0:32
  suicide prevention. Today,
• 0:34
  we look into the alarming stats
• 0:36
  around suicidality in our
• 0:37
  LGBTQIA+ youth.
• 0:40
  September is National Suicide
• 0:42
  Prevention Month,
• 0:42
  and over the last several weeks,
• 0:44
  we brought you conversations
• 0:45
  with experts and advocates
• 0:47
  working to address this
• 0:48
  growing crisis.
• 0:50
  Recent data shows a startling
• 0:52
  spike in overall suicidality in
• 0:54
  children and adolescents.
• 0:56
  In part one,
• 0:56
  Sandra spoke with child
• 0:58
  psychiatrist Vera Foyer about
• 0:59
  ways parents and caregivers can
• 1:01
  address suicidal ideation in
• 1:03
  children. In part two,
• 1:04
  Sandra spoke with
• 1:05
  representatives from
• 1:06
  Your Mom Cares,
• 1:07
  a group focused on addressing
• 1:09
  behavioral health issues in
• 1:10
  children. On today's episode,
• 1:13
  we pivot our attention to a
• 1:14
  group uniquely at risk for
• 1:16
  suicidality LGBTQ plus children.
• 1:19
  Two leading experts in their
• 1:20
  field share their thoughts. Dr.
• 1:22
  David Rosenthal,
• 1:23
  Founding Medical Director for
• 1:24
  Northwell Health Center for
• 1:25
  Transgender Care and Medical
• 1:27
  Director for Northwell Center
• 1:28
  for Young Adult, Adolescent,
• 1:30
  and Pediatric HIV.
• 1:32
  Joining the conversation is the
• 1:33
  Center's senior psychologist,
• 1:35
  Dr. Helena Roderick,
• 1:37
  who is also a senior
• 1:38
  Psychologist for the center
• 1:39
  for Young Adult,
• 1:40
  Adolescent and Pediatric HIV
• 1:42
  and the Division of
• 1:43
  Medical Genetics.
• 1:48
  In the CDC's 2023 report,
• 1:50
  called the Youth Risk
• 1:52
  Behavioral Survey,
• 1:53
  70% of LGBTQ youth experienced
• 1:56
  persistent feelings of sadness
• 1:58
  or hopelessness,
• 1:59
  and more than 20% of these
• 2:01
  students attempted suicide.
• 2:03
  And what we really found out was
• 2:04
  that we're seeing scary trends
• 2:06
  and concerns among youth in
• 2:08
  general about persistence of
• 2:10
  feelings of sadness
• 2:10
  and hopelessness,
• 2:12
  increased suicidality,
• 2:14
  people that have made
• 2:14
  suicidal plans,
• 2:15
  and people that have
• 2:16
  attempted suicide.
• 2:17
  All are up in the general
• 2:18
  population,
• 2:19
  but all are up even more
• 2:20
  dramatically within the
• 2:21
  LGBT population.
• 2:23
  This matches data that came out
• 2:25
  a few years before saying that
• 2:26
  there was a 35% contemplation
• 2:28
  for suicidal ideation that was
• 2:30
  published in the CDC
• 2:31
  MMWR just in 2019.
• 2:35
  MMWR stands for Morbidity and
• 2:37
  Mortality Weekly Report.
• 2:39
  A weekly digest from the CDC.
• 2:41
  Another report released in 2023
• 2:43
  shows that 41% of LGBTQ youth
• 2:46
  seriously contemplated suicide.
• 2:48
  That data is from the
• 2:49
  Trevor Project,
• 2:50
  a nonprofit focused on suicide
• 2:53
  prevention efforts among
• 2:54
  these students.
• 2:54
  S its 2023 national survey
• 2:57
  included 28,000 LGBTQ.
• 2:59
  Young people ages 13 to 24,
• 3:02
  and also highlights ways we can
• 3:04
  support these populations,
• 3:06
  which we'll talk about
• 3:07
  later in the show.
• 3:08
  Both surveys highlight the many
• 3:10
  factors contributing to
• 3:11
  this horrifying trend.
• 3:13
  Among them are social media,
• 3:15
  economic issues,
• 3:16
  academic and home pressures,
• 3:18
  and lack of access to care.
• 3:19
  While those apply to all kids,
• 3:21
  dr.
• 3:22
  Roderick said there's yet
• 3:23
  another that LGB t kids are
• 3:25
  confronted with every day.
• 3:27
  There is a term in psychology
• 3:29
  called minority stress,
• 3:30
  and that's essentially just the
• 3:32
  stress that you experience as
• 3:33
  being part of a minority group,
• 3:36
  being marginalized for being a
• 3:38
  member of a minority group.
• 3:39
  That maybe there's nothing
• 3:40
  inherently stressful about being
• 3:43
  a minority, but it is, in fact,
• 3:45
  the way you are treated by those
• 3:47
  around you that can then
• 3:48
  trigger the stress.
• 3:50
  Experiencing rejection within
• 3:52
  the home, within the school,
• 3:53
  in other communities,
• 3:55
  experiencing bullying,
• 3:56
  physical harm,
• 3:58
  all forms of discrimination
• 4:00
  invalidation.
• 4:02
  It could even be
• 4:03
  microaggressions, honestly,
• 4:05
  where perhaps people are unaware
• 4:06
  and operating at an
• 4:07
  unconscious level.
• 4:09
  So those are some of the factors
• 4:11
  that kind of snowball into
• 4:12
  creating that stress. As Dr.
• 4:14
  Rosenthal highlighted,
• 4:16
  this is all amplified in the
• 4:17
  era of social media,
• 4:19
  where people can post
• 4:20
  anonymously.
• 4:21
  This is amplified in our current
• 4:23
  political environment in the US.
• 4:26
  Nationwide.
• 4:27
  So I think those factors just
• 4:30
  really amplify the stressors for
• 4:32
  young people today who are
• 4:33
  identifying as part of
• 4:35
  the LGBTQ community.
• 4:36
  And discrimination can occur on
• 4:38
  several levels at once. Dr.
• 4:40
  Rosenthal added,
• 4:41
  there's a lot of things that are
• 4:42
  really challenging. So, I mean,
• 4:43
  one of the pieces that we see is
• 4:45
  something that's discussed as
• 4:46
  called intersectionality.
• 4:48
  We really see multiple different
• 4:49
  subpopulations that are coming
• 4:51
  together. So we, for example,
• 4:52
  see people that identify with,
• 4:54
  let's say, a Latino,
• 4:55
  African American gay boy that is
• 4:59
  having more challenges because
• 5:01
  of the intersectionality of
• 5:02
  discrimination and challenges
• 5:04
  upon them as a minority
• 5:06
  stressed population.
• 5:07
  And data supports the idea that
• 5:09
  simply being aware and
• 5:10
  supportive can have
• 5:11
  a huge impact.
• 5:12
  The resiliency literature for
• 5:14
  decades always talks about,
• 5:15
  like, one person.
• 5:16
  You just need one person
• 5:18
  to have your back.
• 5:20
  And so I think that's so
• 5:21
  important for our LGBTQ young
• 5:23
  people is that they have an
• 5:25
  ally, and if it's not at home,
• 5:26
  then in the school setting,
• 5:28
  in their friend group,
• 5:30
  wherever it might be a coach,
• 5:32
  whomever it might be just really
• 5:33
  looking for those allies.
• 5:35
  Of course,
• 5:36
  we encourage parents to listen
• 5:38
  to their children's voices and
• 5:39
  try to help them feel proud of
• 5:42
  whoever their authentic self is
• 5:44
  and perhaps support them as they
• 5:46
  grow with helping if
• 5:48
  they're trans,
• 5:49
  perhaps maybe helping their
• 5:50
  outside align better with how
• 5:52
  they see themselves
• 5:53
  inside and so on.
• 5:55
  A lot of parents talk about the
• 5:57
  success of driving and having
• 5:59
  a conversation.
• 6:00
  When that young person
• 6:01
  is next to them,
• 6:01
  because somehow having just that
• 6:04
  ability to look out that
• 6:05
  windshield rather than stare
• 6:07
  into each other's eyes really
• 6:08
  does help promote
• 6:09
  a good dialogue.
• 6:10
  So I put that out there in
• 6:12
  inviting parents to try to find
• 6:14
  ways to open the doors
• 6:16
  to communication,
• 6:17
  but if not a parent,
• 6:18
  then someone else in their
• 6:19
  network to just say, I see you.
• 6:22
  I provide that unconditional
• 6:23
  support.
• 6:24
  The 2023 Trevor project survey
• 6:27
  further supports Dr.
• 6:28
  Roderick's point.
• 6:29
  It found that having at least
• 6:31
  one accepting adult can reduce
• 6:33
  the risk of a suicide attempt
• 6:35
  among LGBTQ young people by 40%.
• 6:38
  Yet fewer than 40% of
• 6:40
  respondents found their home to
• 6:42
  be affirming to their identity,
• 6:43
  and a majority reported being
• 6:45
  verbally harassed at school
• 6:47
  because people thought they were
• 6:48
  LGBTQ. So it's a heavy,
• 6:50
  heavy burden,
• 6:52
  and young people are obviously
• 6:54
  connected to media at their
• 6:56
  fingertips many,
• 6:57
  many hours a day.
• 6:58
  They are bombarded with
• 7:00
  this information,
• 7:00
  and they are sponges.
• 7:02
  They are taking this in.
• 7:03
  And so it's shaping how
• 7:04
  they view themselves,
• 7:05
  how they view the world
• 7:06
  around them,
• 7:07
  how they feel about the future.
• 7:09
  So the effects are
• 7:10
  super profound,
• 7:11
  and the effects can kind
• 7:14
  of snowball over time.
• 7:15
  There's a lot of self esteem
• 7:16
  issues that can kind of develop
• 7:18
  as you're receiving these
• 7:19
  negative messages.
• 7:21
  You may then kind of be one of
• 7:23
  these isolated young people that
• 7:25
  you just don't know who's
• 7:26
  safe to turn to.
• 7:28
  So we're seeing that a lot,
• 7:29
  that young people are
• 7:30
  withdrawing into themselves,
• 7:32
  not trusting the world around
• 7:34
  them to be safe and responsive.
• 7:36
  If you have a young person who
• 7:38
  all of a sudden we talked about
• 7:40
  isolating themselves,
• 7:41
  but you can also think about a
• 7:42
  student who all of a sudden has
• 7:44
  a dramatically different
• 7:46
  performance in school where
• 7:47
  their grades are declining
• 7:49
  without any real obvious reason
• 7:51
  for why that might be.
• 7:52
  Certainly if a parent is seeing
• 7:54
  a young person who's
• 7:55
  crying often,
• 7:56
  who's even making statements or
• 8:00
  threats around self harm,
• 8:01
  I really do encourage that they
• 8:03
  connect with mental health
• 8:04
  professionals and get an
• 8:06
  evaluation, get some answers,
• 8:08
  and see if there can be
• 8:09
  solutions for that young person.
• 8:11
  And I think there's other
• 8:12
  warning signs that we need to
• 8:13
  look at as well. I mean,
• 8:14
  one of the things that we know
• 8:15
  is that adolescents often will
• 8:16
  want to be able to create their
• 8:18
  own identities and create their
• 8:20
  own perceptions and be able to
• 8:21
  have their own friends and
• 8:22
  figure out their own
• 8:23
  way in the world.
• 8:23
  And that's all part of
• 8:24
  normal development.
• 8:25
  But what we really do want to
• 8:27
  make sure we're having is that
• 8:28
  if we do see a lot more of
• 8:30
  isolation if we do see a lot
• 8:31
  more people only living in
• 8:33
  virtual worlds rather
• 8:34
  than in real worlds,
• 8:35
  if we do see people not
• 8:36
  interacting with peers or
• 8:37
  society or being able to kind of
• 8:40
  be able to go to school or being
• 8:41
  able to have those social
• 8:43
  interactions.
• 8:44
  Those are really a critical part
• 8:45
  of childhood development in
• 8:47
  being able to develop who we are
• 8:48
  and so really making sure that
• 8:49
  we can create spaces that we
• 8:51
  understand those things
• 8:52
  that are going on.
• 8:53
  Self harm is another other
• 8:55
  significant concern. And so,
• 8:56
  obviously,
• 8:56
  if a child does considering self
• 8:58
  harm or something like that.
• 8:59
  Certainly something that
• 9:00
  we need to do.
• 9:01
  So all of these things are
• 9:02
  really other issues that we need
• 9:04
  to address and make sure that
• 9:05
  when we see them as parents,
• 9:07
  as family members, as teachers,
• 9:09
  as trusted adults in
• 9:10
  these kids'lives,
• 9:11
  that we're able to help them get
• 9:12
  the mental health support
• 9:13
  that they need.
• 9:14
  While social media and
• 9:15
  traditional media play a major
• 9:17
  role in kids'mental health, dr.
• 9:18
  Rosenthal added,
• 9:19
  it's no longer just commentary
• 9:21
  in the news.
• 9:22
  Anti LGBTQ legislation is being
• 9:24
  an it into law in states like
• 9:26
  Florida, North Dakota,
• 9:28
  Tennessee, and Texas,
• 9:30
  and kids Notice.
• 9:31
  In addition to everything that's
• 9:32
  happening in the media and
• 9:33
  that we see online,
• 9:34
  I think that there are new laws
• 9:35
  that are being passed that
• 9:36
  specifically are created to
• 9:38
  remove rights from individuals
• 9:40
  that identify as part of
• 9:42
  the LGBT community,
• 9:43
  to be able to limit people's
• 9:44
  decisions about how they're
• 9:45
  going to lead their lives.
• 9:47
  As of this year,
• 9:48
  there are more than 520 bills
• 9:50
  targeting LGBTQ rights that have
• 9:52
  been introduced in state
• 9:54
  legislatures. Of those,
• 9:55
  over 125 would prevent trans
• 9:58
  youth from being able to
• 10:00
  access health care.
• 10:01
  This sort of additional stress
• 10:03
  that's kind of created by
• 10:05
  different agendas that exist,
• 10:07
  add additional stress.
• 10:08
  And I think that that brings
• 10:10
  it kind of is not only just
• 10:11
  something that people experience
• 10:12
  in their lives,
• 10:13
  but it's sort of like something
• 10:15
  that they're hearing
• 10:15
  on the news,
• 10:16
  they're seeing in their feeds
• 10:17
  that's showing up on CNN,
• 10:18
  that's showing up in their
• 10:19
  information that they look at
• 10:21
  from so many different angles.
• 10:22
  They feel continually that the
• 10:24
  world is necessarily putting
• 10:25
  weight on them.
• 10:26
  And what we need to do is figure
• 10:27
  out how we can help lift that
• 10:29
  and really help provide safe
• 10:31
  spaces for those individuals so
• 10:33
  that they feel that they
• 10:34
  can have space,
• 10:34
  spaces to talk about in our
• 10:36
  schools, with our families,
• 10:38
  in our healthcare environments.
• 10:39
  And that's what we spend
• 10:40
  a lot of time doing.
• 10:40
  And the burden is amplified for
• 10:42
  LGBTQ kids living in states
• 10:44
  where these laws are proposed
• 10:46
  or in effect.
• 10:47
  We know of families that are
• 10:48
  picking up and moving.
• 10:49
  They are relocating.
• 10:51
  Where mom and dad or mom and
• 10:53
  mom, for that matter,
• 10:54
  dad and dad, whatever,
• 10:55
  where they don't have
• 10:56
  all the answers,
• 10:57
  but they just know they need to
• 10:58
  find appropriate health care and
• 11:00
  have that access for
• 11:01
  that young person.
• 11:03
  There are families where they're
• 11:05
  just terrified of punitive
• 11:07
  measures that will be
• 11:08
  taken against them.
• 11:09
  So these are very real concerns.
• 11:13
  It is an enormous burden,
• 11:15
  and we're doing what we can in
• 11:18
  terms of Northwell telehealth
• 11:20
  and reaching who we can here
• 11:22
  in New York State.
• 11:24
  But, yeah,
• 11:25
  I think it's a huge concern
• 11:26
  nationwide.
• 11:27
  So how do you create these safe
• 11:29
  spaces on an individual level?
• 11:31
  Simply knowing more about
• 11:33
  certain topics related to these
• 11:34
  communities and experiences
• 11:36
  can help.
• 11:36
  According to those surveyed in
• 11:38
  the 2023 Trevor Project report,
• 11:40
  over 70% of respondents
• 11:42
  cited gender identity,
• 11:43
  sexual orientation and pronouns
• 11:45
  as topics they wish people
• 11:46
  around them knew more about.
• 11:48
  Other topics included the gender
• 11:50
  binary, microaggressions,
• 11:52
  racism and intersectionality.
• 11:55
  And Dr.
• 11:55
  Rosenthal said you can show that
• 11:58
  you understand these
• 11:59
  topics in Creative.
• 11:59
  Of ways for him and Dr.
• 12:01
  Roderick that includes wearing
• 12:03
  colorful pins on their name
• 12:04
  tags and lanyards.
• 12:06
  I have a pronoun pen that lets
• 12:07
  people know that my pronouns are
• 12:08
  he and him because it really
• 12:10
  makes an enormous difference.
• 12:11
  Because regardless of what
• 12:13
  pronoun someone else uses,
• 12:14
  the fact that I'm telling other
• 12:16
  people that I know what a
• 12:17
  pronoun is and how it's
• 12:19
  critically important to an
• 12:20
  identity for some people makes
• 12:21
  an enormous difference.
• 12:23
  I have rainbow pens for
• 12:24
  LGBT key patients.
• 12:25
  I have trans flag pens for
• 12:27
  my trans patients.
• 12:28
  You walk into our office and
• 12:29
  you see a rainbow flag.
• 12:31
  You see a big sign that says
• 12:32
  trans rights equals
• 12:33
  human rights.
• 12:34
  These are going to let these
• 12:35
  young people be seen and feel
• 12:36
  that they can find other people
• 12:38
  like themselves and create those
• 12:39
  kinds of environments.
• 12:40
  But I think patients love it.
• 12:41
  I think parents are like, oh,
• 12:42
  my gosh, you like, it my kid.
• 12:44
  I think that's one of the key
• 12:45
  messages that I'd really like
• 12:46
  to have come out of today.
• 12:47
  We started this story really
• 12:49
  talking about the staggering
• 12:52
  statistics that are coming out
• 12:53
  of the CDC and all the
• 12:54
  challenges that we have there.
• 12:56
  But the real question is,
• 12:57
  what can we do and how can we
• 12:59
  really change this so that we
• 13:00
  can make people feel that they
• 13:01
  have safe spaces and they have
• 13:03
  things that they can do that can
• 13:04
  make a difference for them and
• 13:05
  that can really make them feel
• 13:07
  comfortable in different
• 13:09
  environments beyond non
• 13:10
  verbal cues. Dr.
• 13:11
  Roderick had this advice for
• 13:13
  parents to help their children
• 13:14
  feel more supported at home.
• 13:16
  I just want parents to think
• 13:17
  about it not as a black
• 13:19
  and white issue,
• 13:19
  but think about all the
• 13:20
  different degrees of acceptance
• 13:22
  that they can communicate.
• 13:23
  I think it can be a little
• 13:24
  overwhelming for parents to kind
• 13:26
  of envision their own
• 13:28
  journey sometimes.
• 13:29
  But if they can think about one
• 13:31
  small step of perhaps using a
• 13:34
  different pronoun
• 13:34
  for their child,
• 13:35
  a different name for
• 13:36
  their child,
• 13:37
  and just starting
• 13:38
  small like that,
• 13:39
  if their child is trans and kind
• 13:41
  of looking to be seen
• 13:42
  in a different way,
• 13:43
  that's just one example.
• 13:44
  So I think those changes in the
• 13:46
  home are really important,
• 13:47
  but changes in the school are
• 13:48
  also really important.
• 13:49
  And one thing that I was
• 13:50
  fortunate to participate with it
• 13:51
  was a change that occurred
• 13:53
  within it was a committee that
• 13:54
  was formed by the New York State
• 13:55
  Department of Education Board of
• 13:57
  Regents over the past year.
• 13:58
  And in June of this year,
• 13:59
  the New York State Department of
• 14:01
  Education Board of Regents
• 14:02
  released new guidance for
• 14:04
  schools within all the public
• 14:06
  schools within New York state
• 14:07
  called creating a safe and
• 14:09
  supporting and affirming school
• 14:10
  environment for transgender and
• 14:12
  gender expansive students.
• 14:13
  It's a 2023 legal update
• 14:16
  and best practices.
• 14:17
  And one of the things that we
• 14:18
  did is we brought together
• 14:20
  resources that were from
• 14:22
  LGBT agencies,
• 14:23
  from school psychologists,
• 14:25
  from school boards,
• 14:26
  from other organizations that
• 14:28
  represent the community and the
• 14:29
  legal community. Really,
• 14:31
  to be able to represent the
• 14:32
  medical community on behalf of
• 14:33
  Northwell Health was
• 14:34
  quite an honor.
• 14:35
  The 42 page document highlights
• 14:37
  existing protections within New
• 14:38
  York law to help public schools
• 14:40
  better cultivate a safe
• 14:42
  environment for all students,
• 14:44
  regardless of sex,
• 14:45
  gender identity, or expression.
• 14:48
  Importantly,
• 14:49
  it also included comments from
• 14:50
  the same students it's
• 14:51
  looking to support.
• 14:52
  Really what we heard was the
• 14:54
  voices of the students students,
• 14:55
  and one student actually told
• 14:56
  us, just be polite to everyone.
• 14:58
  Treat someone like a person and.
• 14:59
  Not like they're strange or
• 15:01
  they're out of place.
• 15:02
  Small things like that
• 15:03
  will go a long way.
• 15:04
  It's those words that make
• 15:06
  a huge difference.
• 15:07
  And so there are opportunities
• 15:08
  now to make sure that you can
• 15:10
  grab that document and be able
• 15:12
  to have those resources to
• 15:13
  understand what you can do to
• 15:14
  help your child navigate the
• 15:17
  school waters about how you're
• 15:19
  able to create safe
• 15:20
  spaces in schools.
• 15:21
  What bathroom are your
• 15:22
  kids going to use?
• 15:23
  How are they going to make
• 15:24
  sure that no bullying?
• 15:25
  What are we going to do to make
• 15:26
  sure that your child's preferred
• 15:28
  name appears on the school roll
• 15:30
  when they're calling the
• 15:30
  kid's name in class?
• 15:32
  How do we make sure that your
• 15:33
  kid's pronouns are addressed?
• 15:35
  How do we make sure that there's
• 15:37
  clubs that provide other
• 15:38
  supportive environments and safe
• 15:39
  spaces where you can have an
• 15:41
  opportunity to talk to other
• 15:43
  kids that are interested in the
• 15:45
  same thing as you are or
• 15:46
  about LGBT identities?
• 15:47
  So I think that different people
• 15:49
  want different things.
• 15:50
  Kids don't necessarily all
• 15:51
  want the same thing.
• 15:52
  Some kids are going to say,
• 15:53
  I want to read a book.
• 15:54
  Some kids are going to say,
• 15:55
  I want to talk to someone,
• 15:56
  and some kids are going to just
• 15:57
  see a flag and feel like they've
• 15:58
  got a safe classroom that
• 15:59
  they can walk into.
• 16:00
  So I think that the key thing is
• 16:01
  creating these safe
• 16:02
  spaces at schools.
• 16:03
  And the same truly applies to,
• 16:05
  I think,
• 16:06
  other places where young
• 16:07
  people congregate.
• 16:08
  If that's going to be
• 16:09
  congregations of prayer,
• 16:11
  mosques, synagogues, churches,
• 16:13
  if that's going to be youth
• 16:15
  centers or community centers,
• 16:17
  all of these places need to
• 16:18
  create an opportunity for the
• 16:21
  young people to be themselves.
• 16:22
  The new guidance also
• 16:23
  facilitates compliance with
• 16:25
  state and federal laws
• 16:26
  concerning bullying, harassment,
• 16:27
  discrimination,
• 16:28
  and student privacy.
• 16:30
  You can find a link to the
• 16:31
  document in the show notes while
• 16:33
  centers dedicated to treating
• 16:35
  these communities like the one
• 16:36
  at Northwell Health are
• 16:37
  growing in number,
• 16:38
  access to care remains a major
• 16:40
  pain point for many LGBTQ kids.
• 16:43
  Mental health is still a scary
• 16:44
  word to some people.
• 16:46
  There's still stigma
• 16:47
  associated with it.
• 16:49
  There's still challenges
• 16:50
  associated with it.
• 16:51
  Over half of the patients that
• 16:53
  wanted to see a mental health
• 16:54
  provider from the LGBT community
• 16:56
  didn't see a mental
• 16:57
  health provider.
• 16:58
  The youth sometimes feel that
• 17:00
  they're afraid to talk to mental
• 17:02
  health concerns about
• 17:03
  someone else,
• 17:04
  but they also feel that they
• 17:05
  need to get their parents
• 17:06
  permission in order to
• 17:07
  talk to someone else.
• 17:08
  And they also feel that there
• 17:10
  wouldn't be taken seriously
• 17:11
  or that it wouldn't work.
• 17:13
  One way to bridge the gap, Dr.
• 17:14
  Rosenthal says,
• 17:15
  is better collaboration between
• 17:16
  schools and health systems.
• 17:18
  Our schools have school
• 17:20
  psychologists and school social
• 17:22
  workers that can be a gateway
• 17:23
  for helping to make sure that
• 17:24
  your mental health
• 17:25
  needs can be met.
• 17:26
  And it's really essential that
• 17:28
  you can get that as a starting
• 17:30
  point to be able to kind of make
• 17:32
  sure you can have
• 17:32
  those resources,
• 17:33
  to be able to have the
• 17:35
  opportunity to talk to someone
• 17:36
  and to be able to get that
• 17:37
  support so that you can go
• 17:39
  through adolescence and have the
• 17:41
  additional resources available
• 17:43
  by creating programs that
• 17:44
  partner with schools.
• 17:45
  That work with schools
• 17:46
  is really essential.
• 17:47
  And northwell health
• 17:47
  is very fortunate.
• 17:48
  We have school based health
• 17:50
  clinics which have both medical
• 17:51
  and mental health providers in
• 17:52
  them in several different areas,
• 17:55
  but we also have the phenomenal
• 17:56
  newer mental health
• 17:59
  clinics that are.
• 18:00
  Associated with the schools
• 18:01
  within Queens specifically and
• 18:03
  other areas that have mental
• 18:05
  health providers that are
• 18:06
  dedicated mental health
• 18:07
  providers,
• 18:08
  social worker psychologists and
• 18:10
  other mental health providers
• 18:11
  that are on site,
• 18:11
  that are there specifically to
• 18:13
  provide embedded services
• 18:14
  within these schools.
• 18:15
  And there's also other programs
• 18:17
  that really talk about health
• 18:18
  education for the LGBT community
• 18:20
  and populations like that that
• 18:21
  go into schools and provide
• 18:22
  resources and our work with
• 18:24
  community engagement. It.
• 18:25
  And so the answer is not yes
• 18:28
  or no, one or the other.
• 18:30
  I think the answer is yes,
• 18:31
  yes and yes.
• 18:33
  And I think the reality is that
• 18:34
  we have an access problem.
• 18:36
  We know that there aren't enough
• 18:37
  mental health professionals
• 18:38
  to go around.
• 18:39
  We know that there's a
• 18:40
  disproportionate individuals
• 18:42
  that have an ability to pay,
• 18:44
  that have access to health care.
• 18:45
  So how can we,
• 18:46
  as an organization and
• 18:48
  as a health system,
• 18:49
  do the work that you were just
• 18:51
  describing that's really
• 18:52
  occurring with these programs?
• 18:53
  To be able to bring mental
• 18:54
  health resources to the doors of
• 18:57
  places that need it and to make
• 18:58
  sure that we can bring the care
• 18:59
  towards people rather than
• 19:01
  having people have
• 19:01
  to come to us?
• 19:02
  I know there's a lot of waiting
• 19:04
  lists out there nowadays for
• 19:05
  mental health services,
• 19:06
  so certainly we encourage
• 19:08
  families to be assertive,
• 19:10
  aggressive, almost,
• 19:11
  in kind of seeking out
• 19:13
  those services.
• 19:14
  I know Northwell is definitely
• 19:16
  doing a lot to try to reach
• 19:19
  students where they are in
• 19:21
  their school district.
• 19:22
  So just families know that there
• 19:24
  are new linkages at all
• 19:26
  times from Northwell.
• 19:28
  So there's definitely a push
• 19:30
  in our local community,
• 19:32
  from families as well as school
• 19:34
  communities to be affirming,
• 19:35
  to be supportive.
• 19:37
  Certainly there's a lot of
• 19:39
  crisis resources out there.
• 19:40
  So we've mentioned all sorts of
• 19:42
  research by the Trevor Project,
• 19:43
  but also there's a hotline
• 19:45
  for young people,
• 19:45
  there's a social media space
• 19:47
  that is very supportive,
• 19:49
  so that comes through the Trevor
• 19:50
  Project and is definitely very
• 19:54
  specialized for LGBTQ
• 19:56
  young people.
• 19:56
  So I want families to know there
• 19:58
  are resources out there.
• 20:00
  There's p flag support groups
• 20:02
  for families where they can meet
• 20:03
  others who are perhaps going
• 20:05
  along their journey as well
• 20:06
  trying to figure it out.
• 20:08
  So we just encourage families to
• 20:10
  access supports that are out
• 20:12
  there to gather information from
• 20:15
  trusted, reliable resources.
• 20:17
  So if you're doing
• 20:18
  an online search,
• 20:19
  be mindful of what those
• 20:21
  resources are that you're
• 20:22
  drawing from.
• 20:25
  To learn more about the warning
• 20:27
  signs and to find helpful
• 20:28
  resources,
• 20:29
  listeners can visit
• 20:30
  northwell.edu mentalhealth.
• 20:33
  If you think a child has harmed
• 20:34
  themselves or is in immediate
• 20:36
  danger of harming themselves,
• 20:37
  call 911 or get them
• 20:40
  immediate care.
• 20:41
  That does it for this episode on
• 20:43
  child suicidality in the
• 20:45
  LGBTQIA Plus community.
• 20:47
  On behalf of Sandra,
• 20:48
  Lindsay and our entire 20
• 20:50
  minutes health talk team,
• 20:51
  thank you for listening.
• 20:52
  I'm Rob Hoyle.
• 20:53
  Have a great day and stay safe.