LGBTQIA+ learning guide consultation
People Unlimited is a Social Enterprise working to transform the way the world feels about mental health.
We are planning a new project which will seek to improve the care received by LGBTQIA+ young people when experiencing a mental health crisis. These new resources (video and text) will sit on our Crisis Tools online learning platform – www.crisistools.org.uk.
We would like to talk to young people about what they think needs to be improved, and what staff need to know to better support young LGBTQIA+ people accessing support for their mental health. This project will support existing training and online resources developed by Healthy Teen Minds to look specifically at the needs of young people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning and other relating identities (LGBTQIA+). Young people involved in the production of this training will work alongside a virtual advisory group of frontline crisis care staff to ensure everyone is involved in the co-production process.
We think that this is important because we know that many young people have said that things need to improve in this area. There is also evidence that LGBTQIA+ people have been disproportionately negatively affected by the impact of austerity measures on voluntary and community sector services, which creates additional barriers for young people when accessing crisis services, and for the staff who support them.
We are aware that there may be many different barriers for young people when accessing crisis services and for the staff who support them. Working with local organisations and national groups, this project will produce specific training focused on supporting young LGBTQIA+ people with lived experience of accessing crisis care to identify their key needs from professionals during those interactions, with a focus on specific barriers and discrimination faced by young people which may require different approaches from health staff, in order to build the knowledge and skills of health staff who complete the online modules. All young people involved will be compensated for their time.
To ensure that we get the input from young people with lived experience in a meaningful and safe way, we are looking for young people to get involved by either
- Attending an online consultation workshop
- Attending a 1:1 conversation with a Healthy Teen Minds facilitator
- Completing an online survey
These sessions and/or surveys will be between the end of July and early September and we will be asking you about your views on accessing mental health support as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. We will never ask you to share details of specific experiences during this project, but we will be asking about general experiences of the service. The workshop will last 1 hour and you will receive a £20 voucher (per hour) for your to thank you for your involvement.
If you have experience of accessing mental health support, are aged between 14 and 25, identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and would like to contribute to this project then please click ‘submit interest’ below. We are asking you to fill out the form so that we can ensure that LGBTQIA+ individuals with experience of mental health difficulties are heard in the project, and that we are speaking to you in a way that feels safe for you, as that is our priority.
If you have any accessibility barriers or hesitation about getting involved that we could support you with, please get in touch.
Contact: Stuart Dodzo, Co-production and Partnerships Coordinator, stuart@healthyteenminds.com
healthyteenminds.com 