News Mashup for June 2023
IN RECOGNITION OF PRIDE
June is Pride month—a month to celebrate the cultural richness of the LGBTQ+ community and to recognize the progress, and the work left to do, on achieving interpersonal and systemic acceptance.
Leading into the month, The Trevor Project released its 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People. The data, which represents the voices of 28,000 LGBTQ youth between the ages of 13 to 24, shows that anti-LGBTQ victimization (e.g., anti-LGBTQ policies, harassment, physical violence, repudiation, conversion therapy) places LGBTQ youth at substantially higher risk of mental health disorders compared to heterosexual youth. According to the survey, roughly 40% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year; many had no access to mental health services. Over half of LGBTQ youth who wanted services in the last year were unable to get it.
While an overwhelming number of LGBTQ youth reported that access to gender-affirming homes, schools, community events, and online spaces are critical to their wellbeing, less than 40% find affirmation in their home environment. About 50% find their school to be gender-affirming.
In an effort to support affirmation and care, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a new funding opportunity, LGBTQI+ Family Support, to be administered by SAMSHA. The purpose of the program is to “prevent health and behavioral health risks (e.g., suicide, depression, homelessness, drug use, HIV) and to promote well-being for LGBTQI+ youth 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.”
New actions to protect LGBTQ communities were also announced by the Biden-Harris Administration this month. Actions geared specifically to youth include:
A Behavioral Health Care Advisory on LGBTQ youth outlining evidence-based practices for mental health providers.
Guidance on accessing federal funding and technical assistance to increase mental health services for LGBTQ youth.
Measures to ensure protections for LGBTQ youth in foster care.
A new LGBTQ Youth Homelessness Initiative to support community housing services and solutions.
To learn more about the issues effecting today’s LGBTQ youth click on the links below.
The Trevor Project. May 12, 2023. The 2023 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ Young People. Retrieved May 17, 2023 from https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2023/assets/static/05_TREVOR05_2023survey.pdf.
Laura Allen. June 2, 2023. Supportive spaces help LGBTQ+ youth thrive in school and beyond. Science News Explores. Retrieved June 12, 2023 from https://www.snexplores.org/article/supportive-spaces-help-lgbtq-youth-thrive-school.
Francesca Paris and Claire Cain Miller. June 3, 2023. What it’s like to be a Queer teenager in America today. The New York Times. Retrieved June 12, 2023 from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/03/upshot/up-lgbtq-teens.html .
Fifth & Mission Podcast. June 5, 2023. Listen: Attacks on trans youth hit California high school sports. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 19, 2023 from https://www.sfchronicle.com/podcasts/article/trans-youth-california-sports-18132723.php.
The White House. June 8, 2023. Biden-Harris administration announces new actions to protect LGBTQI+ communities. FACT SHEET. Retrieved June 22, 2023 from https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/06/08/fact-sheetbiden-harris-administration-announces-new-actions-to-protect-lgbtqi-communities/.
Jonathan Edwards and Amber Ferguson. June 13, 2023. L.A. school board president says anti-gay protests make students afraid. The Washington Post. Retrieved June 22, 2023 from https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/06/13/jackie-goldberg-saticoy-protest/.
SAMHSA. June 13, 2023. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual behavioral health: Results from the 2021 and 2022 national surveys on drug use and health. Retrieved June 22, 2023 from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt41899/2022_LGB_Brief_Final_06_07_23.pdf.
Adam Echelman. June 15, 2023. ‘Everybody assumes that it’s like the rest of California and it’s not’: Rural LGBTQ students and administrators describe campus strife. CalMatters. Retrieved June 22, 2023 from https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2023/06/rural-lgbtq-college-students/.
Daniel Breen. June 20, 2023. First in the nation gender-affirming care ban struck down in Arkansas. NPR. Retrieved June 22, 2023 from https://www.npr.org/2023/06/20/1183344228/arkansas-2021-gender-affirming-care-ban-transgender-blocked.
Bram Sable-Smith, Daniel Chang, Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez, and Sandy West. June 20, 2023. Medical exiles: Families flee states amid crackdown on transgender care. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved June 23, 2023 from https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/medical-exiles-families-flee-states-crackdown-transgender-care/.
Amelia Schonbek, Erin Schwartz, Camille Squires, Laura Thompson, Angelina Chapin, Tiana Randall, Marisa Carroll, and Jordan Larson. June 22, 2023. The Transgender Family Handbook. New York Magazine. Retrieved June 22, 2023 from https://www.thecut.com/article/transgender-family-support-handbook.html.
Nicole Cross. June 24, 2023. Helping LGBTQ+ youth in crisis. Spectrum News. Retrieved June 30, 2023 from https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2023/06/22/helping-lgbtq--youth-in-crisis.
Lindsey Dawson, Michelle Long, and Brittni Frederiksen. June 30, 2023. LGBT+ people’s health status and access to care. Kaiser Family Foundation. Retrieved June 30, 2023 from https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/lgbt-peoples-health-status-and-access-to-care/.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. June 1, 2023. HHS Awards Funding to states, tribes, and college campuses to help prevent youth suicide, part of the Biden-Harris commitment to addressing the mental health crisis. News Release. Retrieved June 12, 2023 from https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/06/01/hhs-awards-funding-states-tribes-and-college-campuses-help-prevent-youth.html .
More Stories in June: : Suicide and homicide death rates among youth and young adults aged 10–24: United States, 2001–2021 CDC — June 1, 2023; Pockets of districts across California show increases in homeless students in 2022-23 school year EdSource— 06.01.2023; Current state of health equity and diversity within children’s mental health Psychiatric Times — 06.02.2023; California is closing its last youth prisons: Will what replaces them be worse? Los Angeles Times — 06.02.2023; The gun violence epidemic is ‘locking us back in our room’ Kaiser Family Foundation — 06.02.223; Foster kids in hotels? California needs to bring back group homes now The L.A. Times — 06.04.2023; "I felt so alone": Rising rates of suicide, depression accelerated by pandemic among U.S. kids 60 Minutes — 06.4.2023; Teachers' union calls for social media investigation Public News Service — 06.05.2023; Timing of mental health service use after a pediatric firearm injury Pediatrics — 06.05.2023; In California's youth justice system, many high schoolers graduate with grade-school reading skills EdSource — 06.06.2023; Debt limit bill may impact future mental health funding Mind Site News — 06.06.2023; Examining the reality: The influence of social inequities on child and adolescent mental health Psychiatric Times — 0.6.06.2023; Study: More youths with anxiety getting medication without therapy American Academy of pediatrics — 06.07.2023; School clinics bolster students’ mental health: So why aren’t there more? Chalkbeat — 06.08.2023; As California shuts its youth prisons, unlikely critics emerge The Imprint — June 13, 2023; Mental health treatment among children aged 5–17 years: United States, 2021 CDC — 06.13.2023; No one knows exactly what social media is doing to teens The Atlantic — 06.13.2023; 2023 Kids Count Data Book: State trends in child wellbeing Annie E. Casey Foundation — 06.14.2023; The data is now here: Youth homicide, suicide rates see drastic increase since start of pandemic USA Today — 06.15.2023; How Texas is addressing nation’s crisis in youth mental health The Seattle Times — 06.16.2023; Investments to develop an “Emerging Adult” justice system The Imprint — 06.16.2023; States must unravel the disconnect on transition-age services The Imprint — 06.18.2023; Newsom is proposing a boost in mental health funding: Why children’s advocates are worried CalMatters — 06.20.2023; The disruptive impact on sibling relationships in foster care The Imprint — 06.22.2023; Advocates call for 911 changes: Police have mixed feelings KFF Health News — 06.23.2023; The troubled teen industry’s troubling lack of oversight The Regulatory Review — 06.27.2023; Study: Most parents prefer children's mental health screening done in primary care setting Healio — 06.27.2023; LGBT+ people’s health status and access to care Kaiser Family Foundation — 06.30.2023.
