Federal Focus on Bi and Trans Health: An Interview with SAMHSA's Dr. Michelle Carnes
by Amy Andre
Dr. Michelle Carnes is a public health analyst with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a federal agency based in Maryland. She is also part of the agency’s Sexual and Gender Minority Interest Group, which was involved in organizing a very special event April 3 for their colleagues to attend. In conjunction with LGBT Health Awareness Week, SAMHSA put together a panel on LGBT behavioral health — and they didn’t skimp on addressing the needs of those of us at the end of that acronym.
Bi and trans health issues were given as much attention as gay and lesbian ones, which is, sadly, a rarity at events like this. Considering that bi and trans communities 1) have unique health concerns, 2) often have poorer health than other groups under the LGBT umbrella, and 3) all too often lack the attention they deserve, I’m personally hoping that this federal example will inspire a trend.
I recently had the opportunity to connect with Dr. Carnes to learn more about the day’s program. (Full disclosure: I was one of the speakers at this event.)
Click the link above to read the full article.
Don’t miss the 3rd Annual Bisexual, Fluid, Pansexual and otherwise & Queer-identified Organizing Day at this year’s Creating Change Conference in Baltimore MD USA on Thursday January 26th 2012 Come meet, network, brainstorm and strategize with other activists (and friends) from around the region, country and world.
Source: bialogue-group
LGBT health issues not being taught at medical schools, Stanford study finds
Do you agree?
(Medical and nursing students and healthcare professionals, I’m particularly curious about your opinions on this!)-Kristan
Source: menstruationresearch.org
SIGNAL BOOST: Check out Juliet and Juliet
About Juliet and Juliet:
Juliet & Juliet is a new networking, matchmaking and job alert website for women seeking women. Individual AND couples profiles available!
From the site creator:
*NO credit card required to sign up for this free trial :)*
I’m giving out lots of trial memberships to the site this week. To sign up, go to julietandjuliet.ning.com and click on ‘click to enter.’ Once you’re on the main site, click on ‘sign up’ in the upper right-hand corner and create a profile. For 3 months, you’ll enjoy full access of the site and its perks. You can have an individual profile or a ‘committed couples’ profile, and be looking for dates, new friends, and/or job leads. Take advantage of this $18 value. :)
Hello everyone,
Sofia Loren Zombi here. Some of you may have noticed that I have placed a few ads on the Project Queer tumblr page. (If not, these ads are currently located at the top and bottom of the page.) I have placed these ads here on Project Queer due to the fact that I have been having some financial difficulties as of late.
In order to keep Project Queer up and running efficiently, I have created the ads with hopes to raise a little more money to help with my every day necessities. If you would like to help Project Queer (and myself), all you need to do is click on any of the ads on the Project Queer homepage. You can click any number of times that you like. The more clicks, the more money I can raise for future projects. Any and all help is greatly appreciated, folks.
If enough money is raised, I will not have to acquire a second job. Also, I would like to eventually start an etsy for Project Queer with pro-queer, feminist, and other positive human rights merchandise including pins, patches, zines, etc. The proceeds from the etsy will be donated to various lgbtq+ friendly organisations like Amnesty International, Equality Illinois, and the Human Rights Campaign. Again, any and all help is appreciated.
Thank you to all who follow and spread the word about Project Queer. With your help, I hope to spread the word about human rights issues and news.
Sincerely,
PROJECT QUEER is 90 followers away from hitting 10,000.
Let’s see if we can hit 10,000 by the end of the day.
If you support lgbtqiaa+ rights, feminism, and human rights in general, please re-blog and spread the word.
She’s a hardcore BAMF PFLAG mother. I suggest you follow her, or at least look at her blog, and see what she has to say. I think she is an amazingly inspirational woman and she has helped me personally in the past. For anybody struggling with homophobic parents, maybe she can give you hope for the future, because she has for me. She GMH.
Submitted to LGBTQ-GMH by itsallaboutfalling.
Source: lgbtq-gmh
![lgbtadvocate:
tranquality:
[photo: close up photo of an individual holding a small, mostly yellow, circular sticker to the viewer/camera. there is text on the sticker that reads, “I deserve a safe space to learn,” followed by “You Can Help!” The space between the ‘r’ and ‘v’ is taken over by an upside down triangle with the colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple; a yellow star is present in the red stripe. The sticker is created by and the message is supported by GLSEN, whose logo is present above the first sentence. The logo is grey, with the ‘e’ being emphasized by a lighter shade. there is a link: http://www.safespacekit.com]
I just received these awesome stickers in the mail, along with other resources like ThinkB4USpeak posters, an info flyer for GLSEN’s newest project: Changing the Game, The GLSEN Sports Project, the 2009 National School Climate Survey - Executive Summary (the full one can be accessed here), and a whole lotta more inspiration for the upcoming school year to be one of my most productive years as I work with other students, teachers, and faculty to promote an actively safe and opportunistic school year for (actual or perceived) LGBTQ students and their allies.
You may have seen the Safe Space Kit campaign talked about by Chely Wright, or featured on the GLSEN website, or the subject for which GLSEN won a $250,000 prize from the Pepsi Refresh Project, or from me rambling about it from time to time. Though the campaign is no longer in the spotlight or GLSEN’s main news, the chance is still there to sponsor a kit to your school, your kid’s school, someone you care about’s school, or any random school in the country. The Safe Space Kit provides resources for educators and allies to action against school bullying and harassing and towards a positive learning environment for all students. Supportive staff, inclusive curriculum, comprehensive anti-bullying policies, and student clubs such as gay-straight alliances/queer-straight alliances/GLOBAL are all a part of the solution for creating a better climate for students. The 42 page guide section of the Safe Space Kit provides concrete strategies for supporting students and educating about anti-LGBTQ bias.
I can honestly say that if this were around, or even simpler: just having ‘safe space’ stickers, I think my earlier years of high school would’ve been much, much, much better. If I were to have had some teacher (or even my bus driver!) who was willing to step up, and step in, I would’ve been more prone to reporting my experiences with bullying and wouldn’t have been so fearful that no one would listen or worse: do nothing. This kit is much less about ‘saving lives’ than it is about preventing the endangerment of queer and trans* youth and students in the first place. If you’re tired of not hearing about students being bullied until after they’ve completed suicide, or until after their bullies have gotten on national news: you can take action now by promoting this kit. Shoot, you can even download a PDF copy here (and then convince your school, club, or teacher to purchase one because they have awesome stickers and posters ;)).
And I hope that’s something you can get with.
I have had the privilege of working with GLSEN to promote this and many other campaigns this summer. It is so worthwhile to know that we are helping students to stay safe and to feel comfortable and accepted in their schools.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq1t1lUOXU1qb18gbo1_500.jpg)
[photo: close up photo of an individual holding a small, mostly yellow, circular sticker to the viewer/camera. there is text on the sticker that reads, “I deserve a safe space to learn,” followed by “You Can Help!” The space between the ‘r’ and ‘v’ is taken over by an upside down triangle with the colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple; a yellow star is present in the red stripe. The sticker is created by and the message is supported by GLSEN, whose logo is present above the first sentence. The logo is grey, with the ‘e’ being emphasized by a lighter shade. there is a link: http://www.safespacekit.com]
I just received these awesome stickers in the mail, along with other resources like ThinkB4USpeak posters, an info flyer for GLSEN’s newest project: Changing the Game, The GLSEN Sports Project, the 2009 National School Climate Survey - Executive Summary (the full one can be accessed here), and a whole lotta more inspiration for the upcoming school year to be one of my most productive years as I work with other students, teachers, and faculty to promote an actively safe and opportunistic school year for (actual or perceived) LGBTQ students and their allies.
You may have seen the Safe Space Kit campaign talked about by Chely Wright, or featured on the GLSEN website, or the subject for which GLSEN won a $250,000 prize from the Pepsi Refresh Project, or from me rambling about it from time to time. Though the campaign is no longer in the spotlight or GLSEN’s main news, the chance is still there to sponsor a kit to your school, your kid’s school, someone you care about’s school, or any random school in the country. The Safe Space Kit provides resources for educators and allies to action against school bullying and harassing and towards a positive learning environment for all students. Supportive staff, inclusive curriculum, comprehensive anti-bullying policies, and student clubs such as gay-straight alliances/queer-straight alliances/GLOBAL are all a part of the solution for creating a better climate for students. The 42 page guide section of the Safe Space Kit provides concrete strategies for supporting students and educating about anti-LGBTQ bias.
I can honestly say that if this were around, or even simpler: just having ‘safe space’ stickers, I think my earlier years of high school would’ve been much, much, much better. If I were to have had some teacher (or even my bus driver!) who was willing to step up, and step in, I would’ve been more prone to reporting my experiences with bullying and wouldn’t have been so fearful that no one would listen or worse: do nothing. This kit is much less about ‘saving lives’ than it is about preventing the endangerment of queer and trans* youth and students in the first place. If you’re tired of not hearing about students being bullied until after they’ve completed suicide, or until after their bullies have gotten on national news: you can take action now by promoting this kit. Shoot, you can even download a PDF copy here (and then convince your school, club, or teacher to purchase one because they have awesome stickers and posters ;)).
And I hope that’s something you can get with.
I have had the privilege of working with GLSEN to promote this and many other campaigns this summer. It is so worthwhile to know that we are helping students to stay safe and to feel comfortable and accepted in their schools.
(via lgbtqyouthspace)
Source: tranqualizer
It’s weird, being part of a self-identified minority with no absolute methods of physical identification.
Source: liveoutsidethelines
