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New home to open in Red Deer as provincial Advocate calls for more to help LGBTQ youth

Nov 20, 2017 | 3:16 PM

More can be done for sexually and gender diverse youth in Alberta’s child welfare and justice systems, according to a report out Monday from the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate.

Entitled Speaking OUT, the report outlines five recommendations for helping LGBTQ2S+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, Indigenous two-spirit, plus) youth who still experience higher rates of homelessness, suicide, mental illness, addictions and violence.

Recommendation two, which calls for the Minister of Children’s Services and the Ministry of Justice to create LGBTQ2S+ specific living options for young people, is already seeing some progress locally.

Shay Vanderschaeghe with Heritage Family Services says their Haven program will see the opening of a new three-unit group living space for gender and sexually diverse youth in Red Deer sometime in the near future. The home will be fully staffed 24/7 and provide clinical therapy to those living there.

On the report as a whole, Vanderschaeghe says it will help make sure those working to better the lives of the youth in question are headed in the right direction.

“There is a reason why this report is needed, there’s a reason why Haven’s being started — the sector isn’t safe for LGBTQ youth or staff and we need to do our best to create safer spaces for all those people because healthy staff make healthy kids and safe staff make safe kids. At the end of the day, we have to do all of this work.”

The report’s first recommendation is that ministries should make certain LGBTQ2S+ specific training and education is required for all employees working directly with young people.

The third states the ministries should review and revise policies and practices in relation to identity, safety and appropriate places to live for LGBTQ2S+ youth. The fourth recommendation suggests establishing a policy which guides decision-making for employees in their role as guardian, regarding consent for medical interventions and support services for transgender young people.

The final recommendation says young people in the care of the Children’s Services and Justice ministries should have access to appropriate and inclusive sexual health information.

“These kids have traumatic history,” Vanderschaeghe continues. “There’s something that’s led to them being here. They’re no longer with their families because they’ve had this trauma. Their coping skills, their development as youth, all these things can have be negatively impacted and they’re at risk for a higher rate of sexual abuse and sexual interference.”

“We can do more, and we should do more,” says Del Graff, Provincial Child and Youth Advocate. “I sincerely hope that the recommendations from this report will be quickly acted on to ensure that government ministries implement changes that improve the circumstances for LGBTQ2S+ young people in government care.”

Alberta’s Children’s Services Minister Danielle Larivee responded to the report on Monday by saying the province is always looking for ways to better support LGBTQ2S+ youth.

“In Children’s Services, work is currently underway to enhance staff and caregiver training in ways that better support the needs of LGBTQ2S+ children and youth. The Ministry of Justice also has policies in place to ensure these youths’ needs are met at young offender centres, requiring the use of preferred names and pronouns, training for correctional staff, self-identified gender-based placements and a focus on promoting safety by listening to youth.

“These recommendations will play an important role in our ongoing work with community partners to create safe, inclusive communities where all children and youth are welcome, supported and loved. The Advocate has been and will continue to be a critical partner in this work.”

Information in the report was gathered through one on one interviews, focus groups and online surveys with more than 280 young people and stakeholders.