July 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 28

Member to Member
LGBTQ Teens in
Recreation Programs
By Randy Wiger

esbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning (LGBTQ)
teens are coming out ever younger, and they and their families are requesting services and accommodations that meet their needs. Recreation
and parks departments may believe the services they provide are available for everyone equally, and that LGBTQ youth are therefore already included
in the programs they offer. But we know from a growing number of instances that
minorities who are not deliberately and intentionally included are left out. Simply
providing an opportunity and a program is not sufficient for authentic engagement.

Why LGBTQ Teens need
Recreation Programs
Much literature and resources focus on
homeless LGBTQ teens, and they are
disproportionately represented. Often,
as many as 40 percent of a city's homeless teens are LGBTQ, even though
LGBTQ people are at most 10 percent
of the overall population. As important as it is to assist homeless LGBTQ
teens, it is equally important to address
the needs of non-homeless LGBTQ
teens. In Seattle - with an estimated
population of 668,000 as of 2014 -
there are approximately 400 homeless
LGBTQ youth (age 24 and under) out

of a conservative estimate of 2,300
LGBTQ youth of middle- and highschool age. If one looks at the larger
metro area - and we should, because
teens are mobile and will use recreation facilities regardless of where they
live - with a population of 2 million,
then a conservative estimate is that almost 7,000 LGBTQ youth of middleand high-school age may be using the
city's facilities and programs.
Some of these youth have supportive
parents, schools and friends. Many do
not and are struggling because of attitudes about their sexual orientation
and/or gender expression that are imposed on them by family, school staff
and friends. Regardless of how many
LGBTQ youth there are in your city
or service area, and regardless of how
many may be homeless or housing insecure, they all need our help. On average, LGBTQ teens experience depression, miss days at school and attempt
suicide at rates two to five times higher
than their heterosexual peers.
What Can Parks and Recreation
Departments Do?
Many departments use a " youth de-

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velopment model " or tools such as
the " 40 Developmental Assets " to
guide them in serving teens. In this
sense, LGBTQ teens are not that
different from any other teens, although, because of the unique challenges they face as minorities, staff
will need to be knowledgeable and
comfortable discussing these challenges. So, how does a department
effectively serve a population of
teens and provide positive role models for them if none of its staff share
essential characteristics with them?
In other words, how many of your
department's teen program staff are
openly LGBTQ? And how many are
openly LGBTQ and of color?
Even when departments have
staff members who are comfortable
being visibly and openly LGBTQ, it
is almost certain that the majority
of the staff who interact with teens
will be heterosexual. Therefore,
there is a need to develop cultural competency and allies in your
workforce to ensure all staff are
knowledgeable, effective and supportive of the LGBTQ teens they
serve. If you think your department
is not serving any LGBTQ teens, I
would ask, " How do you know? "
If LGBTQ teens currently participating in your programs are not
comfortable or feel safe enough to
let your staff know, then it may be
an indication that your department
has some work to do to be truly welcoming for all teens.

July 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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