Actionable Support Strategies for LGBTQ+ Youth

Your Course Description

Your Competency Focus Area

Intercultural Engagement

Supporting LGBTQ+ youth in today's climate begins with using correct terminology and moves directly into practical, everyday application. When you’re dealing with shifting regional policies, institutional biases, or outdated paperwork, it’s easy to feel stuck while trying to protect the young people in your programs.
This training will provide a quick review of basic LGBTQ+ terminology. Then, we’ll expand on that baseline understanding by focusing on concrete approaches to supporting LGBTQ+ youth, with a specific emphasis on trans and gender-expansive youth.
You’ll explore how external stressors impact youth mental health, learn strategies to navigate community polarization, and gain practical tools to audit your program’s everyday entry points, such as intake forms, to remove binary barriers and make your spaces more welcoming. Join us to gain trauma-informed strategies you can confidently use to strengthen your program's support systems.

Your Learning Objectives

Recognize how shifting social climates and external stressors directly impact the mental health and safety of LGBTQ+ youth
Be able to identify and remove binary barriers in your organization’s forms, paperwork, and physical or virtual spaces
Use trauma-informed approaches to handle institutional biases and complex community conversations while keeping programs safe for young people

Your Course Details

Interactive
Completion Certificate
Youth Worker Track
This training will count as 1.5 CE hours for most boards. Please contact your board directly with questions on submitting. Course details for CE submissions provided.

Your Trainer

Karen Marder, LCSW (she/her) is the Executive Director of Dutchess County Pride Center and supervises all of their programs. As one of the founders of the organization, she remains actively involved in the day-to-day operations, including running numerous groups and summer programs, overseeing the Youth Board, and working directly with program facilitators and volunteers. She is also the Co-Chair of the Poughkeepsie Pride March and Festival. Karen received her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Wurzweiler University in 1995 and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She has spent the majority of her career in the non-profit sector working to better the lives of young people, particularly LGBTQ+ youth and their families.