Lessons from the Field Webinar - Promoting Health and Well-Being in LGBTQ+ Students

Attention: State and District Leaders, School Administrators, Educators, Student Support Personnel, Parents, and Education Stakeholders

The U.S. Department of Education is hosting a webinar series to address topics that are on the top of educators’ minds. After sharing federal updates, the series features lessons learned and best practices from faculty, staff, schools, districts, institutions of higher education, and other places of educational instruction. It also shares a variety of useful resources.

In observance of National Coming Out Day and National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month, and on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Office of Safe and Supportive Schools, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE) invites you to join our next webinar Promoting Health and Well-Being in LGBTQ+ Students.

Wednesday, October 25, 2023
3:00 – 4:30 pm ET

According to the 2021 YRBS data, students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, or another non-heterosexual identity (LGBQ+) and those who have any same-sex partners were more likely than their peers to have used or misused substances (i.e., ever used select illicit drugs, ever or current prescription opioid misuse, and current alcohol, marijuana, and electronic vapor product use). Following National Coming Out Day, we are pleased to host this webinar discussing data related to substance use among LGBTQ+ students and highlighting innovative and inclusive strategies to prevent substance use among students identifying as LGBTQ+. During this webinar, federal experts highlighted data on the prevalence of LGBTQ+ youth substance use and share helpful, relevant resources to support prevention efforts with students identifying as LGBTQ+. Then, practitioners from three communities engaged in a panel discussion to share how they are working to shift school climate and ensure students who identify as LGBTQ+ have the supports they need to promote their well-being and reduce their risk for substance use. The panel included speakers from Drug Free Community coalitions, school-based practitioners, and youth/young adult advocates and peer educators. After the panel discussion, speakers and panelists responded to questions from the audience.

Speakers

• Karen Voetsch, Branch Chief, Drug-Free Communities Program, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Captain Arlin Hatch, Senior Psychologist/Clinical Advisor, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP), Office of the Director, Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
• Helen Hernandez, Assistant Director, Office of Drug-Free Communities, Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)

Panelists

• Kevin McCloskey, Director, Community-Based Programs, Youth Services, Los Angeles LGBT Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Yvette Topete, Los Angeles LGBT Center, LifeWorks CAN Coalition, Los Angeles, CA
• KC Aldana, LifeWorks CAN Coalition, Los Angeles, CA
• Kathy Sullivan, Director, Kent County Prevention Coalition, Warwick, RI
• Heidi Driscoll, Director, South County Prevention Coalition, Warwick, RI
• Amanda Wallace, High School Student, East Greenwich High School, President, ASAPP, East Greenwich, RI
• Sandy Degenhardt, Social Worker, 504 Case Manager, GSA Advisor, Rye High School and RyeACT Youth Action Team Co-Advisor, Rye ACT Coalition, Rye, NY
• Dr. Genevieve Weber, Associate Professor of Counseling & Mental Health Professions, Hofstra University, Co-Founder, pRYEde Community Group, Rye, NY
• Nancy Pasquale, RyeACT Coalition Coordinator, RyeACT Youth Action Team Co-Advisor, Rye, NY

Moderator

• Cindy Carraway-Wilson, Training Specialist, NCSSLE

Webinar Materials

• Speaker Bios
• Slides
• Transcript

Related Resources

• National Youth Substance Use Prevention Month Proclamation, The White House
• LGBTQI, SAMHSA
• Creating Inclusive and Nondiscriminatory School Environments for LGBTQI+ Students, U.S. Department of Education
• Drug-Free Communities Coalitions, CDC/ONDCP
• Supporting LGBTQ Youth, CDC
• Supporting LGBTQI+ Students Experiencing Homelessness, National Center for Homeless Education
• Improving Care for LGBTQ+ Communities, Center of Excellence
• A Practitioner's Resource Guide: Helping Families to Support Their LGBT Children, SAMHSA
• Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety, Bureau of Justice Statistics
• Promoting Health and Well-Being in LGBTQ+ Students to reduce substance use and mental health challenges, Rhode Island Regional Coalitions
• OUT for Safe Schools® Toolkit for LGBTQ+ Affirming Educators
• Parenting in Changing Times Volume 3: Creating a Community of Belonging

Please contact NCSSLE if you have any questions. We look forward to sharing this information with you and hearing about the important work you are doing in your schools, communities, and states to meet the needs of students and staff.

More on the Lessons from the Field Webinar Series

To access archived materials from previous webinars and to find out what is coming next, go here.