Family Acceptance Project launches campaign for American Indian communities to urge support for their LGBTQ / Two Spirit children

The Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University launched new research-based Healthy Futures posters for American Indian families & communities to help parents, families and caregivers to support LGBTQ / Two Spirit children and youth to reduce health risks and increase well-being. Two of the posters are printed in this issue, on pages 17 and 19. “FAP’s posters help parents, families and caregivers understand the critical need for family support and the impact that specific family rejecting and accepting behaviors have on risk and well-being for LGBTQ- 2S children and youth,” Dr. Caitlin Ryan, Director of the Family Acceptance Project, said. “Family behaviors that try to change, deny and minimize a child’s LGBTQ-2S identity and gender expression start at home and contribute to serious health risks like suicide, substance abuse, self-harm and sexual health risks. Simply by changing the way they respond to LGBTQ-2S children, parents and caregivers can help prevent health risks and build healthy futures for children and youth.”

The term “Two Spirit” is used to describe diverse gender, spiritual and social identities among Native and Indigenous people that transcend binary concepts of male and female. Historically, Two Spirit people held respected roles in many tribal communities.

“Our coming of age ceremonies should include diverse, gender affirming tools to help our youth navigate adulthood,” said Sharon Day, an Ojibwe M’dewin, water walker and Executive Director of Indigenous Peoples Task Force. “These posters offer guidance to parents and caregivers on ways to support our LGBTQ and Two Spirit identified children and to prevent health risks. As a lesbian/Two Spirit identified person, my own personal acceptance was deeply connected to my mother’s unconditional love and acceptance. Our children face many challenges and family support is essential.”

RISKS OF REJECTION

High levels of risk for LGBTQ-2S adolescents for suicide, substance abuse, depression and victimization call for evidence-based approaches that increase support and connectedness, and these connections start with families. Family support plays a major role in helping to buffer racism and rejection and to promote positive development. FAP’s research has identified more than 100 specific family rejecting behaviors that increase risk for suicide, depression, drug use, HIV and other health risks and are experienced as traumatic for these youth, as well as specific family accepting behaviors that promote well-being. These new posters show parents and caregivers specific ways to help reduce their LGBTQ-2S children’s risk and increase family support.

PART OF A LARGER PROJECT

FAP’s new posters for American Indian communities expand a growing series of cultural and multilingual versions of these materials that are currently available in English, Spanish and 8 Asian languages and are grounded in FAP’s peer-reviewed research and family support work over the past two decades. The posters show how specific family rejecting reactions to a child’s sexual orientation, gender identity and expression such as ridiculing their identity or not letting them wear clothes – including regalia – that express their gender identity contribute to health risks. They also show how supportive behaviors such as standing up for their children when others mistreat them because of their identity help protect against risk and promote well-being.

To develop the posters, FAP partnered with American Indian cultural consultants, Dr. Pamela Jumper Thurman and Dr. Barbara Plested, founders of Council Oak Training and Evaluation, Inc., a central resource for developing and implementing culturally grounded mental health, substance abuse, HIV and violence prevention and intervention programs for diverse tribes over the past three decades. Drs. Jumper Thurman and Plested are co-developers of the Community Readiness Model which has been implemented across the U.S. and in many other countries to help tribal and other communities to address challenges to health and well-being. They are working with FAP to develop other culturally grounded family education resources for American Indian families with LGBTQ / Two Spirit children and youth. Family based education and support are critical for helping to prevent health risks, including suicide, and for increasing connectedness especially in American Indian families that have been devastated by the legacy of mandated boarding schools and policies that undermined essential family and cultural bonds.

NATIONAL EMERGENCY FO CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH

FAP’s new poster series to support LGBTQ-2S children’s mental health comes as leading national child and adolescent medical groups have designated a national emergency for children’s and adolescent’s mental health that calls for promoting trauma-informed services to reduce risk and support family resilience. In describing the posters and FAP’s culture-based family support work, Drs. Jumper Thurman and Plested noted: “It is an honor to work with the Family Acceptance Project to develop these posters for the Indigenous community. In fact, it’s groundbreaking! To our knowledge there has not been a national campaign such as this one aimed at increasing family connectedness and support for LGBTQ-2S youth. This has high potential to be lifesaving for many youth.”

FAP’s Healthy Futures poster series and poster guidance that explains what the posters are and describes ways to use them are available to download for free in four sizes in camera-ready multicultural versions from FAP’s website. The posters are being disseminated as part of a communications campaign to decrease family rejection and health risks and to increase acceptance and well-being for LGBTQ children and youth. The campaign includes other evidence-based educational resources for families, youth, providers and religious leaders to promote family acceptance and increase access to mental health and support services.

For more information and to download copies of the posters, visit familyproject.sfsu.edu