LGBTQ Youth and Suicide

Suicide in the LGBTQ community is quite common in our society.  LGBTQ youth are the most likely to attempt and commit suicide, suffer from depression and other mental ails, and participate in substance abuse.  Coming to terms with one’s sexuality is no easy feat for any young person, especially when you’re sexuality is deemed perverse.  The last thing an adolescent wants is to feel different from the norm, and so to deal with such feelings becomes a very difficult thing.  In my post about bullying I said the family and community needs to step in to make the youth feel supported.  As an LGBTQ youth your family and community is often the entity attacking you, either directly or passively.

One day I was on the bus and a group of boys on the back of the bus looked outside to see another young man who was perceived to be gay walking down an alley with another boy. “FAGGIE.. HAHAHA.. YALL BOUT TO DO SOMETHING” My heart sunk as I begin to think about, how I would feel if I was walking down the street with a partner or friend and someone yelled obscene things to me. I thought about it some more and realized I had.  When walking with a lesbian friend, dressed “like a boy,” a guy yelled out to me “You just need some good d!ck” Embarrassed, I just laughed it off, assured in the fact we weren’t together. How would I feel if this happened to me on a daily basis? How would I feel if I couldn’t come home and tell my father or mother what happened because their reaction could be just as negative and obscene?  

As I think back on this day, I feel for the youth in this constant struggle and I pray from them.  I also pray for their attackers, be it verbal or physical, that they take the time to seek understanding.  I pray that we can live in a world where people who feel differently from one other can respect ourselves enough to respect others.

Because of recent media publicized events, it seems the community is more ready to have this conversation and seek understanding. I am proposing a listening project and maybe other events to give youth a place to speak out about their experiences and the community a chance to listen. This could also be an opportunity to fund raise for the new youth center in Baltimore. If you’re interested in helping plan this project, please email me at mjones@afsc.org

Youth Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention Grant →

National and State Schools of Character Awards →

Juvenile Justice in the Light of the Second Chance Act →

I’ll be there

Webinar: Public Health Leadership for Violence Prevention →

Webinar Follow Up to Federal Bullying Prevention Webinar →

Advisory Committee Interest Meeting

Baltimore, MD: American Friends Service Committee’s Youth Empowerment through Conflict Resolution Program will be hosting an Interest Meeting on Tuesday October 19, 2010 from 7:00-8:30pm for those interested in being a part of its Program Advisory Committee.  Come learn more about the organization, the program and how to be involved.  Office is located at 4806 York Rd, Baltimore, MD 21212. Light refreshments will be served. Email Mia Jones, mjones@afsc.org  to RSVP

The Culture of Bullying

Bullying has become one of those political and media buzzwords in Baltimore and across the country. Anti-bullying programs have popped up everywhere, schools and communities standing up to FIGHT against bullying. Bullying has been posed as this new epidemic brought on by new technology. Bullying is certainly an epidemic but I feel the conversation about bullying is flawed. As we crack down on bullying we really begin to crack down on bullies. As a result, the system of educators and lawmakers begin to bully the bully. If bullying is defined as someone exerting their power on someone they perceive as less powerful than them, bullying is something that is practiced by the very ones claiming to fight it. When trying to combat bullying we have to create an environment where youth and staff are empowered to work out their problems. We have to encourage communication, empathy and understanding. “Bullying” is not something that should be criminalized, further feeding the school to prison pipeline. The bullies and the bullied are both victims. Victims of a society that doesn’t take enough time to listen to one another and build community. Victim of a society where power is considered something negative because of the effect it has on the powerless. By building this community, we will be better equipped to support all of our children and youth so they will not feel the need to hurt one another, and not feel the need to hurt themselves when threatened.

Youth do not commit suicide or go on violent rampages because they were bullied.  They did these things because they weren’t aware of the available options. Many people are surprised to learn I was “bullied” a lot during middle school.  This time period was very frustrating to me and certainly affected me academically, but because I had parents, family and friends who loved me and told me how great I was on a regular basis, harassment here and there was just a nuisance I had to face.  I also had an outlet as I wrote in my journal nightly.  We need to provide outlets for youth— supporting the arts, after school programs, character education, conflict resolution and mediation skills training, etc. 

Spread light and love. The Pro Peace Movement starts with you!

Bullying Younger and Younger →

An article about a kindergarten girl being bullied at school.  It takes a whole village to raise a child.  We as a community have to be more than anti bullying.. we have to be pro peace and understanding.