Supporting Transgender Youth in New York State

Children are socialized to learn what it means to be a boy or a girl. They learn this from older children, caregivers, and other influences around them. This learning process, starting at birth, begins early and continues into puberty and adulthood.  However, gender is more of a spectrum, with many individuals identifying and expressing varying degrees of both femininity and masculinity, while some choose to ignore the gender binary and experiment with their self - expression. Transgender is a label for people who have a gender identity that is different from the one they were assigned at birth. 

Gender identity and expression are central to the way we see ourselves and engage in the world around us. This is really true for transgender and gender - expansive children and teens, for whom family support is incredibly important. In fact, research reflects that gender - affirming behavior on the part of caregivers and other adults (family members, teachers, etc.) greatly improves mental health and well - being. And, the opposite is true too - transgender children are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, and are at greater risk of other challenges when their caregivers are hostile or rejecting. It has also been found that transgender youth are at greatest risk of suicide (compared to their non - transgender peers) as a result of rejection, bullying, and other victimization. All young people — regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression — deserve to be safe, supported, and healthy.

In this webinar, participants will learn:

• Brief introduction to terminology
• Differences between sexual orientation and gender identity
• Formation/expression of LGBTQ+ identities in youth
• The impact of discrimination and prejudice on LGBTQ+ communities including trans youth
• The national landscape as it pertains to rising Anti - LGBTQ+ sentiment
• How trans youth can build resilience
• How to support LGBTQ+ communities

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 Our Presenter

kk naimool is founder and principal partner of Collective Justice Consulting LLC, as well as founder and Executive Steward of Queer Family Network, a fiscally sponsored initiative to support LGBTQ+ families. 

kk is a nationally recognized and sought-after equity consultant, passionate about equity and accessibility. kk develops tools and training for groups and organizations looking to apply best practices in diversity and inclusion, cultural humility, and systemic justice.

kk has trained thousands of Health and Human Services professionals on LGBTQ+ Health Equity and assisted organizations and programs to review processes to prioritize impact and community input. In a multiyear project along with a team of LGBTQ+ researchers, activists and scholars kk helped develop an LGBTQ+ Cultural Competency Training Toolkit -the first ever nationally recognised standards for LGBTQ+ Cultural Competency Training.