Home court advantage
It all starts at home.
Your family accepts your identity? You get to stay in your home. You get love and support. You feel stronger in the face of those who would do you harm.
Your family threw you out because you’re gay, bisexual or transgender? Now you live on the streets. You have no education. You’ve become a statistic.
So it stands to reason that the first line of defense is helping families navigate their new normal as best they can.
When the Family Acceptance Project took a look at what happens when LGBTQ+ youths are accepted by their families, they found a significantly lower risk of suicide, depression, HIV, drug use and more. So the organization created the Supportive Families, Healthy Children booklet to educate families about the good that comes when they choose to support their LGBTQ+ children. It’s now considered a best practice.
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Read this article from the Huffington Post to learn more about the Family Acceptance Project.
Family Acceptance : Groundbreaking ‘Best Practice’ for Reducing Suicide Risk for LGBT Youth
As a recent report from the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing points out, actions as simple as talking with children about their LGBTQ+ identity or bringing your children to LGBTQ+ organizations or events can have a profound and long-lasting impact on their health.
Check out this study for a deeper look at the issue of family acceptance.
References:
Nolan, T. (2012, May 17). Family acceptance: Groundbreaking ‘best practice’ for reducing suicide risk for LGBT youth. HuffPost. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/theresa-nolan/family-acceptance-lgbt-youth-suicide-risk_b_1518197.html
Park, A. (2010, December 6). The protective effect of family acceptance for gay teens. Time. http://healthland.time.com/2010/12/06/the-protective-effect-of-family-acceptance-for-gay-teens
