Youth Resources

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When supporting LGBTQ+ youth, consider the whole person:

• Family
  • What supports can we offer the parents/family?
  • Has the youth come out to their family?
  • Is the youth safe at home? Is there a risk of homelessness if they come out to family?
• Education/School
  • Is there a GSA in the area?
  • Is the young person dealing with bullying or other issues in their school environment?
• Mental & Physical Health
  • Is the youth sexually active?
  • If so identify HIV Testing referrals if appropriate.
  • Does he/she have access to protection?
• What are the mental health needs?
  • Crisis intervention? Counseling? Substance Abuse treatment?
• Friends/Community/Support
• Extracurricular Activities
• Church/SpiritualWeb Life

All of these factors play a significant role in the detriment or success of a youth that is in the process of coming out.

Resources

These resources are intended to help you:

• Be prepared – Know what is available in the community
• Understand the issues – Bullying, rejection, depression, substance abuse, homelessness, mental health issues, relationships, spiritual, community
• Identify best practices:
  • Learn from communities who have gone before us
  • Safe schools
  • Community Centers
  • Starting GSAs
  • Bullying Policies
  • LGBT youth in out of home care
  • LGBT homeless youth
• Implement safe/affirming/supportive environments for youth

Web-Based Resources

Out of the Margins: A Report on Regional Listening Forums Highlighting the Experiences of Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Youth in Care, Child Welfare League of America & Lambda Legal (2006)
Call 866-LGBTeen to order copies free of charge or download at
http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/publications.html?record=1978 or http://www.cwla.org

CWLA Best Practice Guidelines: Serving LGBT Youth in Out-of-Home Care, Shanna Wilber, Caitlyn Ryan and Jody Marksamer, CWLA Press (2006)
http://www.cwla.org/pubs

Child Welfare Journal Special Issue: LGBTQ Youth in Child Welfare, edited by Rob Woronoff & Gerald P. Mallon, Vol. 85, No. 2, March/April 2006
http://www.cwla.org/pubs

Breaking the Silence: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Foster Youth Tell Their Stories, A Tool for Training Care Providers on Working Effectively with LGBTQ Youth, DVD, National Center for Lesbian Rights (2006)
http://www.nclrights.org

Youth in the Margins: A Report on the Unmet Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Adolescents in Foster Care, Including a Survey of Fourteen States and Proposals for Reform, Lambda Legal (2001)
http://www.lamdalegal.org

Lesbian and Gay Youth Issues: A Practical Guide for Youth Workers, Gerald Mallon, CWLA Press (2001)
http://www.cwla.org/pubs

Serving Gay and Lesbian Youths: The Role of Child Welfare Agencies, CWLA (1991)
http://www.cwla.org/pubs

Serving Transgender Youth: The Role of Child Welfare Agencies, Proceedings of a Colloquium, CWLA, September 2000
http://www.cwla.org/pubs

Lesbian and Gay Youth: Care & Counseling, A Comprehensive Guide to Health and Mental Health Care, Caitlin Ryan and Donna Futterman, Columbia University Press (1998)
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup

In the System and in the Life: A Guide for Teens & Staff to the Gay Experience in Foster Care, edited by Al Desetta, A Youth Communication Book (2003)
http://www.youthcomm.org/Publications/Books.htm

Foundations of Social Work Practice with Gay and Lesbian Persons, Gerald Mallon, Haworth Press (1998)
http://www.haworthpressinc.com

We Don’t Exactly Get the Welcome Wagon: The Experiences of Gay and lesbian Adolescents in Child Welfare Systems, Gerald Mallon, Columbia University Press (1998)
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup

Let’s Get This Straight: A Gay and Lesbian Affirming Approach to Child Welfare, Gerald Mallon, Columbia University Press (1999)
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup

Social Services with Transgendered Youth, Gerald Mallon, Harrington Park Press (2000)
http://www.haworthpressinc.com

Hatred in the Hallways: Violence and Discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Students in U.S. Schools, Human Rights Watch (2001)
http://www.store.yahoo.com/hrwpubs/hatinhal.html

Books

Alyson, Sasha, editor. Young, Gay and Proud! 3rd ed. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1991. ISBN: 1555830013.
Geared toward high school students, this book answers questions such as, “Am I the only one?” “What would my friends think if I told them?” “Should I tell my parents?” and “How can I avoid AIDS?

Bass, Ellen and Kaufman, Kate. Free Your Mind: The Book for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Youth and Their Allies. New York: HarperCollins, 1996. This book covers self-discovery, friends and lovers, family, school, spirituality, and community, with advice on: how to come out; dealing with the problems coming out can entail; and making the world safer for gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth.

Bauer, Marion Dane, editor. Am I Blue? Coming Out From the Silence. New York: Trophy Press, 1995. 
An award-winning anthology of funny, sad, and memorable short stories for teens about coming out as gay or lesbian. Contributors include C.S.Adler, Bruce Coville, Nancy Garden, Cristina Salat, William Sleator, and Jacqueline Woodson.

Blumenfield, Warren J, editor. Homophobia: How We All Pay the Price. Boston: Beacon Press, 1992. Activists and academics offer concrete suggestions for transforming homophobic attitudes, behaviors, and institutions.

Chandler, Kurt and Ivers, Mitchell, editors. Passages of Pride: Lesbian and Gay Youth Come of Age. New York: Crown Publishing, 1995. In this landmark study, six teenagers speak eloquently of the challenges of realizing at an early age that they are different, learning how to hide, facing depression and suicidal tendencies, and finally coming out and making peace at home, at school, and on their own.

Due, Linnea. Joining the Tribe: Growing Up Gay and Lesbian in the ’90s. New York: Anchor Books, 1995. This informative and compassionate book realistically and vividly portrays the challenges faced by gay, lesbian, and bisexual teenagers.

Ferrante, Tony, and Jacobson, Paulette. Letters From the Closet. Tzedakah Publications, 1994. ISBN: 0929999037.
In this fictional portrayal, two youth communicate the experience of coming out through postcards, journal entries, and letters.

Grima, Tony, editor. Not the Only One: Gay and Lesbian Fiction for Teens. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1995.  Twenty-one stories for lesbian and gay teenagers tell about coming out, falling in love,sexuality, and courage.

Harbeck, Karen M. Coming Out of the Classroom Closet: Gay and Lesbian Students, Teachers and Curricula. Binghamton, N.Y.: Harrington Park Press, 1992. This volume discusses school-based interventions and the needs of gay and lesbian youth, the treatment of gay and lesbian educators and their current legal rights, and many other issues concerning gay men and lesbians and the educational setting.

Heron, Ann, editor. Two Teenagers in Twenty: Writings by Gay and Lesbian Youth. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1994. A new teenage generation talks about being gay or lesbian in stories that can ease the way for teenagers just coming out and help the adults who seek to support them.

Huegel, Kelly. GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Queer and Questioning Teens. New York: Free Spirit Publishing, 2003. 
This book covers the basics that every GLBTQ teen needs to know, then moves through the primary issues and questions such as coming out, dating and sexuality, religion, and life at school, work, and home.

Jennings, Kevin, editor. Becoming Visible: A Reader in Gay and Lesbian History for High School and College Students. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1994. Suggestions for classroom activities and questions follow selected readings that span 2000 years of history and a diverse range of cultures; suitable for ninth grade and up.

Remafedi, Gary. Death by Denial: Studies of Suicide in Gay and Lesbian Teenagers. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1994.  This serious review identifies suicide risk factors and important research on homosexuality, sexuality education in schools, anti-gay violence against young people, and family pressures to be heterosexual.

Sanchez, Alex. Rainbow Boys. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. The author follows three very different high school seniors, coming of age and out of the closet, in a struggle with sexuality and intolerance that draws them into a triangle of love, betrayal, and friendship.

Savin-Williams, Ritch C. The New Gay Teenager. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005. This is a refreshing and frequently controversial introduction to confident, competent, upbeat teenagers with same-sex desires, who worry more about the chemistry test or their curfew than they do about their sexuality.

Singer, Bennett L., editor. Growing Up Gay/Growing Up Lesbian: A Literary Anthology. New York: New Press, 1994. 
More than fifty stories by prominent lesbian and gay writers and scholars address coming of age and coming out. Contributors include James Baldwin, Gloria Anzaldua, Quentin Crisp, Audre Lorde, Walt Whitman, and Rita Mae Brown.

Stevenson, Michael R and Cogan, Jeanine C., editors. Everyday Activism. New York: Routledge, 2003. The comprehensive new reference collects in one volume the strategies, hard data, and legal arguments that are central to GLBT people’s fight for equality.

Summer, Jane, editor. Not the Only One: Lesbian and Gay Fiction for Teens. New York: Alyson Publications, 2004.  This collection offers 21 stories in which lesbian and gay teens tell about coming out, falling in love, sexuality, and courage.

Unks, Gerald, editor. The Gay Teen: Educational Practice and Theory for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adolescents. New York: Routledge, 1995. Written for educators, this book focuses on the problems gay teens face in school and guides educators to develop gay-friendly curricula and intervention techniques for ending homophobia.

Do you need a resource not listed in your resource directory? Would you like your organization added to this list?

We are committed to identifying and maintaining resources for LGBTQ youth. Contact us at pflagjacksonms@aol.com with your updates, suggestions, and resource needs.