We imagine a world in which all LGBTQU+ young people are free to be themselves so they can fully belong, contribute, and thrive in their local communities.
Our LGBTQU+ Youth Support service for 11-25 year-olds is urgently needed because in 2020/21:
84% of LGBTQU+ young people and
96% of trans young people experienced a mental health problem.
24% of homeless young people are LGBTQU+, and 61% of homeless LGBTQU+ young people felt frightened or threatened by family members before they became homeless.
1 in 4 people who identify as transgender have experienced homelessness.
48% of LGBTQU+ young people didn’t feel included in their community.
“Contacting [YMCA DownsLink Group’s] Find It Out+ service has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life… I felt welcomed from the get-go and quickly felt comfortable talking to [my worker].”
Nathan (18) had been struggling with his family relationships and mental health for several years, especially so after coming out to his family at the age of 15. Nathan found the confidence to reach out to YMCA DownsLink Group, Youth Advice Service (Find It Out+) after speaking to his friend who had previously had a positive experience with the service.
Nathan explained that his parents were not fully accepting his identity as a gay man – he had a boyfriend who he said was quite supportive. Nathan explained that he wanted independence, boundaries, freedom & privacy with his parents, but did not feel that he was getting this from them.
Glossary of gender identity and sexuality for beginners
This article is intended to give an overview of the difference between sex, gender and sexual orientation, for those who want to know more, but maybe feel embarrassed to ask. It is unashamedly ‘basic’, however at the end of the article are suggestions for more in-depth reading and resources.
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What are Pronouns and why they are important?
A critical focus of our Diversity & Inclusion Forum has been recognising and promoting the importance of understanding and correctly using pronouns. Through our work we have produced a set of recommendations around the use of pronouns which may be useful for everyone.
Faith and queerness: a discussion around LBGTQU+ identities and religion
An open and honest conversation between our YMCA YAC Team Leader Joshua and Lead Chaplain Lucy about the sometimes difficult relationship between religion/faith and people in the LGBTQU+ community.
Further reading:
Our staff, volunteers and young people have recommended the books below:
- Diversify by June Sarpong "This book has had a very profound impact on my personal awareness of otherness in its many forms. It's informative and well researched, with exercises and recommendations for articles and films."
- REBEL IDEAS The power of diverse thinking - Where do the best ideas come from? And how do we apply these ideas to the problems we face – at work, in the education of our children, and in the biggest shared challenges of our age: rising obesity, terrorism and climate change? In this bold and inspiring new book, Matthew Syed – bestselling author of Bounce and Black Box Thinking – argues that individual intelligence is no longer enough; that the only way to tackle these complex problems is to harness the power of ‘cognitive diversity.
- The Power of Bias and How to Disrupt It in Our Children (with Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt) Dr. Jennifer Eberhart, author of the best-selling book Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do joins Janet to discuss how racial bias develops in the brain and creates disparities in our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and the criminal justice system.
- Queer: A Graphic History – Meg-John Barker & Julia Scheele
- Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice: What's Law got to do with it?
- To My Trans Sister – Charlie Craggs
- Sister Outsider – Audre Lourde
- Life Isn't Binary – Meg-John Barker and Alex Iantaffi
- Coming Out: Emerging Identities – Jeffery Weeks
- The Celluloid Closest – Vito Russell
- Queer Intentions – Amelia Abraham
- In Their Shoes – Jamie Windust
- The Twilight of Equality – Lisa Duggan
- The Black Flamingo – Dean Atta
- Girl, Women, Other – Bernadine Evaristo
- Seeing Gender – Iris Gottlieb
- Redefining Realness – Janet Mock
