While LGBT youth are thought to be largely overrepresented in the child-welfare system, there are few programs tailored to address their unique needs — a challenge that a new support group is confronting.
The group, operated by Pennsylvania MENTOR, will hold its first meeting at 6 p.m. March 7 at 125 S. Ninth St., launching what is thought to be the city’s first support group for LGBTQ foster-care youth.
The MENTOR Network is a national social-services agency offering comprehensive programs for children and adults, and MENTOR authorization specialist Tim Chambers will serve as group leader.
Chambers, 27, who is pursuing his master’s of social work at Temple University, presented the idea for the group to his supervisors as a means of providing a much-needed service to the city’s youth.
“In addition to all of the challenges LGBTQ teens face every day, these youth in foster care really need to come out multiple times — to family and friends and, if they’re moving from home to home, to different caregivers at different schools,” he said. “They deal with bullying, and many are already predisposed to suicidal ideations. There are so many issues unique to this population that aren’t understood.”
Open discussion is a primary goal of the group, which will meet twice a month.
Chambers noted the program is designed to encourage the exchange of ideas, but not to function as “group therapy.”
“I don’t want to pathologize kids’ experience because there’s nothing wrong with them. They all have different and unique experiences and I don’t want to put them through more therapy,” he said. “This is strictly support-focused, where they can get together, share stories and see that they’re not alone, that they’re not the only ones going through what they’re going through.”
Education will also be part of the group.
Chambers has created a unique curriculum that will acquaint the group members with LGBT history and culture through reading and viewing materials, and a number of guest speakers.
“I want to introduce them to positive gay role models,” he said. “A lot of these kids don’t have access to this information or the resources to find it, and it’s good for them to understand that they’re a part of a larger community that is proud and has a very proud history.”
Chambers has reached out to a number of agencies and programs that work with youth in the child-welfare system, including Arise Academy Charter School, an institution specifically for foster-care youth, and the Achieving Independence Center, a program for youth on the way to independent living.
There is no age requirement for the group, as the program is “open to anyone and everyone” interested, Chambers said.
Chambers is openly gay and said he hopes his leadership will communicate to the youth the possibilities that await them.
“We want to incorporate the ‘It Gets Better’ message from the Dan Savage campaign, and them being able to see an older openly gay male who’s happy and well-adjusted can help communicate that message,” he said.
For more information, visit www.lgbtqsupport.org or www.facebook.com/lgbtq-youth or email [email protected].
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].