AG
HEALEY ISSUES FIRST-EVER MENTAL HEALTH AND GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE RESOURCE GUIDE
FOR LGBTQ2IA+ YOUNG PEOPLE
Guide
Centralizes Information on Existing Mental Health Resources for LGBTQ2IA+ Care
Across the State to Improve Access to Services
BOSTON – Seeking to increase access to critical mental health resources for LGBTQ2IA+ young people across Massachusetts, Attorney General Maura Healey today issued her office’s first-ever “Mental Health and Gender-Affirming Care Resource Guide for Massachusetts LGBTQ2IA+ Young People and Their Trusted Adults.”
The Resource Guide, intended for LGBTQ2IA+ young people, their
trusted adults, and supportive community members, was developed in connection
with a $1 million grant awarded to the AG’s Office by the U.S.
Department of Justice for the STOP School Violence and Mental Health Grant
Program in 2018. The AG’s Office is utilizing the funding to collaborate with
Sandy Hook Promise to implement and expand violence and suicide prevention
training programs in middle and high schools across the state. As part of this
federal grant, the AG’s Office also created this Resource Guide with the goal
of providing information about specialized mental health services available
throughout Massachusetts for LGBTQ2IA+ young people, a community who
experiences high rates of suicide and mental illness as well as high rates of
discrimination and victimization, yet traditionally has had unequal access to
health care services. The Resource Guide also aims to acknowledge the roles
that intersectionality and social determinants of health play in mental health
outcomes of the LGBTQ2IA+ community.
“As dangerous homophobic and transphobic policies are
being enacted across the country, it is more important than ever that we
support our LGBTQ2IA+ young people and ensure they have access to critical
services and resources,” said AG Healey. “In publishing this Resource Guide, it
is our hope that we are able to increase the visibility and accessibility of
health care providers to our young people, and to better help them navigate
through various financial and socio-cultural barriers to receive care.”
“There are so many caring professionals and organizations
looking to support and affirm LGBTQ2IA+ people in the Commonwealth,” said Dr.
Scott Hadland, Chief of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at
Mass General Hospital. “The LGBTQ2IA+ Mental Health Resource Guide is full of
high-quality services, and it will not only save lives, but just as importantly,
it will help LGBTQ2IA+ people find affirmation and thrive, all across our
state.”
“On behalf of the Massachusetts Association for Mental
Health (MAMH), I commend Attorney General Healey and her office for their
leadership in developing a Mental Health Resource Guide for LGBTQ2IA+ Youth and
Their Trusted Adults,” said President and CEO of Massachusetts Association for
Mental Health (MAMH), Danna Mauch. “This resource is particularly timely, as we
know that LGBTQ2IA+ youth are suffering disproportionately in the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic. This Guide will be a key resource in supporting the
Commonwealth’s Roadmap for Behavioral Health Reform, in that it will help
advance equitable access to culturally competent mental health and substance
use services. This resource will remove barriers to care access for LGBTQ2IA+
Youth — a community that has been historically marginalized and is as a
consequence at greatest risk for disruption of their mental health and
well-being. We look forward to disseminating the Guide through the Network of
Care Massachusetts website, and trust it will be a helpful tool for the new
Massachusetts Behavioral Health Help Line call, text, and chat operators.”
“In these challenging times, mental health resources,
especially for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults, are critically important in
helping young people access the support that they need and deserve,” said Grace
Sterling Stowell, Executive Director of BAGLY, Inc. “We applaud outgoing
Attorney General and Governor-Elect Maura Healey and her team for developing
this much needed and useful resource for all LGBTQ+ youth, and those who
provide services for their support.”
“LGBTQ+ youth are the targets of significant and
unprecedented attacks resulting in increased need for mental health services
and supports,” said Christopher Bellonci, M.D. Senior Policy Advisor, Baker
Center for Children and Families. “This is a timely resource that will benefit
LGBTQ+ youth and their allies in the Commonwealth and I applaud the AGO’s
office for investing the time and resources to develop it.”
“So many youths are struggling with mental health
challenges these days, and we know that LGBTQIA+ youth face unique challenges
in accessing mental health supports that are responsive to their needs,” said Maria
Mossaides, Director of the Office of the Child Advocate. “This Resource Guide
is an important step toward helping ensure LGBTQIA+ youth and the individuals
who work with them are aware of the resources that do exist. The OCA was
pleased to have the opportunity to collaborate with the Office of the Attorney
General in support of this project.”
“We are currently experiencing a national behavioral
health crisis among youth, however studies show that youth identifying as
LGBTQ2IA+ face additional barriers to accessing quality behavioral health
care,” said Amara Anosike, JD, Director of Behavioral Health Policy &
Advocacy for Government Relations at Boston Children's Hospital. “I applaud the
Office of Attorney General Maura Healey for putting together a Resource Guide
to support the unique mental health needs that youth identifying as LGBTQ2IA+
face.”
“This guide is an essential resource for LGBTQ2IA+ young
people and supportive adults in the Commonwealth. All youth need and deserve
access to trusted mental and medical healthcare resources, and such access is
vital to ensuring LGBTQ2IA+ youth have the opportunity to thrive and grow into
healthy, self-actualized adults,” said Amanda Johnston, Director of Public
Affairs & Education for GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) “We
commend the Office of the Attorney General for creating a clear and useful
resource that will help thousands of LGBTQ2IA+ youth, their parents, family
members, and other trusted adults navigate the landscape of providers in the
state to find the care and support that best fits their needs.”
The AG’s Resource Guide focuses on mental health
providers in every county in the state who offer care that is affirming of
sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, including
specialized services around domestic and sexual violence, housing assistance
and shelter, and substance use disorder. The Guide also seeks to centralize
existing services and medical options that provide support or access to
gender-affirming care for members of the LGBTQ2IA+ community, including puberty
blockers, hormone therapy, speech therapy, or other forms of culturally
competent and trauma-informed care. Research has consistently shown that having
proper access to gender-affirming care is lifesaving and improves health
outcomes, including mental health, of the transgender community. In
Massachusetts, access to gender-affirming care is a protected civil right. All
organizations listed in the Guide provide care or information to LGBTQ2IA+
populations, and many self-identify as free or low-cost and provide services in
multiple languages.
In addition to information on finding a mental health
provider, the Guide contains general information about mental health topics,
LGBTQ2IA+ identities, as well as responses to common questions and concerns
from the community. Along with featuring organizations that provide mental
health care, the Resource Guide includes provider directories, which allow
young people to find individual therapists using filters relevant to their
specific needs and identities. There is also a Social Connection section, which
lists local communities that offer acceptance to LGBTQ2IA+ youth and promote
positive and inclusive youth development.
The Resource Guide is a continuation of AG Healey’s
work to advocate on behalf of the LGBTQ2IA+ community. Last month, the
AG’s Office joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a
brief in support of the rights of the more than 20 million LGBTQ+ Americans to
live, work, and pursue education free from discrimination, following a
challenge from a group of states to undermine recent guidance issued by the
U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. AG Healey also
recently led a coalition urging the federal courts to uphold anti-discrimination
efforts for LGBTQ+ Americans, following the termination of a substitute teacher
at a North Carolina Catholic high school who was terminated after announcing
plans to marry his same-sex partner.
To view the Resource Guide in full, please click here. In the coming weeks, the Resource Guide will also be
made available in Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, and Mandarin. This
Resource Guide will be distributed to school districts and health care
providers and will also be available online.
The creation of the “Mental Health and Gender-Affirming
Care Resource Guide for Massachusetts LGBTQ2IA+ Young People and Their Trusted
Adults” was led by Project Manager Allison Beaufort and Director of Strategic
Initiatives Elise Yannett with assistance from the AG’s Chief of Organizational
Development and Inclusion April English, Director of Grants Management Nathan
Gardner, Chief of the Policy & Government Division Alicia Rebello-Pradas,
and staff in the AG’s Health Care Division, Civil Rights Division, Children’s
Justice Unit, Community Engagement Division, and Non-Profit Organizations
Public Charities Division.
