This training is presented by The Professional Youth Worker. It's our mission to help you and your team build your skills and boost your passion for serving young people. Join us!
LGBTQ Foundations: Awareness, Knowledge, and Skills
A Safe Zone Workshop

- On-Demand Webinar
- Recorded on Thursday, December 1, 2016
- 2 hour training
- FREE for YIPA members
- $40 for non-YIPA members
- 100% approval rating
- Not a member? Annual membership is $124 for individuals or $300 for organizations. Join now or learn more.
Learners' Own Words
"Very informative and presented in a manner that was easy to understand."
"I really enjoyed this training. I needed to update my vocabulary."
"Meg did a great job in making this a comfortable setting to talk about GLBTQ topics."
Your Training Description
LGBTQ youth experience various challenges because of how others respond to their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. When others respond negatively, including insensitive statements, it can lead to a disconnection from family, school, and the broader community. Without these connections, LGBTQ youth are at risk for situations and relationships that can be detrimental for their physical and emotional well-being today and in the years to come.
By being inclusive to the LGBTQ community, youth programs can help provide that vital sense of connection and support. The first step is for youth workers to understand the LGBTQ community. Developing an awareness and understanding of the challenges facing LGBTQ youth is just a starting point. It also means youth workers must continually hone their own self-awareness to recognize and check their biases. You, as a youth worker, need a safe resource to provide answers to questions that can often be difficult to ask out of fear of offending others or appearing to be prejudiced.
This training will provide you with an understanding of terminology that will help define the LGBTQ experience as well as give you an awareness of when and how to use this sort of vocabulary appropriately. You’ll explore how privilege impacts the LGBTQ community. You’ll be challenged to think about barriers and opportunities within your organization in creating more inclusive programs. And you will walk away with a deeper understanding of the LGBTQ community and items to consider when identifying ways your organization can best support LGBTQ youth as they interact with others in your program and in other environments.
Your Learning Objectives
- Define foundational LGBTQ vocabulary
- Define the differences between gender, sex, and sexuality (and why that difference is important)
- Discuss how having or lacking access to privileges impacts the daily lives of LGBTQ people
- Identify affirming and supportive strategies for serving LGBTQ youth
Your Trainer

Meg Bolger is a social entrepreneur and facilitator passionate about the process of engaging in social justice work. She founded Pride for All, an organization that provides support for folks looking to start social justice conversations. Meg is also the co-creator of TheSafeZoneProject.com, where she enjoys helping individuals and organizations create sustainable gender and sexuality education programs. Meg completed her undergraduate studies at Hamilton College and received a Master of Arts in College Student Counseling and Personnel Services from Bowling Green State University. She enjoys flying around the U.S. to help develop facilitators at schools and other organizations, all the while getting asked if she’s old enough to sit in the exit row.
Your Competency Focus Area

Each of YIPA’s trainings are designed around a broad framework of eight youth work competencies. The competency focus of this training is: INTERCULTURAL ENGAGEMENT.
You'll raise your awareness to embrace diversity, foster equity, ensure inclusion, recognize and address bias and prejudice, and cultivate respect for all cultures.
Your Training Details
- On-Demand Webinar
- Recorded on Thursday, December 1, 2016
- 2 hour training
- FREE for YIPA members
- $40 for non-YIPA members
- 100% approval rating
- Not a member? Annual membership is $124 for individuals or $300 for organizations. Join now or learn more.
This training will count as 2 CE hours for most boards. Please contact your board directly with questions on submitting. You are encouraged to print or save this training information as a PDF for your records.