Teen suicide and homelessness were the main focus of a Nov. 18 Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network forum on support services available to youths at risk. About 30 people attended, most of them teachers or school administrators who shoulder the responsibility of ensuring schools provide a safe environment for self-development and learning.
GLSEN is a national organization that operates through a network of local chapters. Their work includes three major components: advocacy, training, and support.
Advocacy efforts take place both at the national and local levels. One example is the Day of Silence initiative, where participating students all wear the same color clothes and remain silent for an entire school day in order to highlight the issue of sexual discrimination. Last year, 220 Chicago students took part. The date for the 2004 Day of Silence is Wednesday, April 21. Here in Illinois, GLSEN's new Action Network has been trying to influence public policy by lobbying elected officials. It also encouraged its members to write to their senators and ask them to pass Senate Bill 101 (banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity). The bill died in the Fall Veto Session, but the battle will resume in the new year.
Training of teachers and school personnel like counselors and academic advisers constitutes another part of GLSEN's mission. They are reaching out to new teachers especially and giving them tools to develop an inclusive class environment as well as deal respectfully with questions of sexual orientation.
Providing support and resources for GLBT students and their allies is essential for GLSEN's work to have sustained and lasting impact. This is done by the creation of local Gay-Straight Alliances. Similar to other extra-curricular clubs, they are established and managed by students with the help of a liaison person. Illinois has 78 listed GSAs. As an indication of the growing need for such services, GLSEN has recently created a full-time position to coordinate its Building Leadership in Students program.
While statistics vary, most reports point to a higher incidence of suicide among GLBT teens (30% higher is often quoted) than among their straight counterparts.
Homelessness is also believed to be more prevalent among GLBTs, sometimes as a result of having been thrown out of the family home. A newly produced 40-minute educational film was presented to illustrate the real-life plight of some GLBT youths. It began with interviews of three teens who have attempted suicide. The clarity with which they are able to analyze their past state of mind and recount the events that led up to suicide becoming an option is very impressive. Teachers, parents, and peers will learn from their articulate and enlightening testimonies. The film then introduced the audience to Bobby and his contrite mother. He is now dead and she is trying to make sense of his reluctantly avowed homosexual leanings. She recalls giving him Bible verses in the hope that 'God would cure him' and remembers how Bobby's dad kept saying he would 'grow out of it' if he would only date more girls. Bobby ended up moving to Portland, Ore., and eventually he jumped from an overpass.
The film closed on a more hopeful note with the story of an Asian-American lesbian who is planning to take her girlfriend to the prom while both her parents become more and more accepting of their daughter's choices.
Lourdes Rodriguez, the Chair of Youth Services at GLSEN, and also a case reviewer at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, knows a lot about troubled youths and the difficult odds they face. She spoke of a downward spiral: 'You become homeless, you start drinking, you think your life isn't worth living and then you commit suicide.'
Rodriguez gave out copies of a number of DCFS publications. Crossroads: A Handbook for Youth in Transition to Adulthood offers information on college admission procedures and requirements as well as on types of financial aid. It also explains special circumstances for students who are either wards of the state or in foster care. Other booklets like Protecting the Children: A School Administrator's Guide to Child Welfare Services in Illinois, and Youth Housing Assistance Program: Providing Housing Advocacy Services and Cash Assistance to Emancipated Wards were also distributed.
Tricia Pusker from the Law Project of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless pointed out that under Illinois law, all kids, including those without a fixed address, have certain educational rights. Schools must provide immediate enrollment even when no proof of residency can be obtained. They are obliged to give students access to their own records (transcripts, immunization, etc.) after a transfer. Transportation services also have to be arranged when parents wish to keep their child in the same school in spite of having had to move out of the area.
In Chicago, homeless children are entitled to fee waivers for such things as uniforms and books. Lunch, before and after school programs, counseling and tutoring services must also remain available to them.
Megan Carney, Artistic Director of About Face Youth Theatre (AFYT), presented their pro-active Educational Program. She talked about the importance of raising awareness of GLBT issues in schools.
The program's goal reads (in part) as follows: 'to increase the safety, empowerment and leadership capacity of LGBTQQ youth and their allies in order to catalyze youth-led civic dialogue and action … .'
Speaking of prejudice and discriminatory behaviors, she said, 'When you spend enough time with GLBT youths, it's impossible not to do something about it.'
As part of their Outreach Tour, AFYT and their cast of young actors take touring productions to Chicago-area schools. The 30-minute shows are performed in front of groups of students and teachers. Although it occasionally takes a little while for young audiences to settle down and tune in to the seriousness of the message, the mini-plays become a starting point for an open forum on issues like bullying, HIV-AIDS, and gender identity. Schools wanting to host one of these performances simply need to contact AFYT. Events can even be customized to address specific needs.
Finally, information was handed out on the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA. They are active in the field of youth suicide prevention and will soon partner with Howard Brown Health Center for a local awareness campaign.
There is an extensive set of resources available both to young GLBT persons who are at risk and to the adults whose job it is to guide and educate them. Most organizations are on the Web and can be reached through an emergency number.
Admittedly, not everyone is equipped to intervene and help a child or young adult in need, but being informed and able to suggest support services is a shared responsibility.
Useful Information: GLSEN, Chicago (312) 409-1835, www.glsen.org; DCFS Youth Hotline (800) 232-3798, www.state.il.us/dcfs; Chicago Coalition for the Homeless 1-800-940-1119, www.chicagohomeless.org; About Face Youth Theatre (773) 784-8565, ext. 104; Suicide Prevention Action Network USA www.spanusa.org .
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