John Trobaugh

Worcester Public Schools need to consider LGBTQ+ students and staff.

Previously, I wrote of the need for comprehensive health and sex education for all of our LGBT+ families and relationships.

Since writing this article, I have received communications from multiple educators and employees who feel their colleagues need more education as well. They did hear the mayor call for more education around LGBTQ+ issues, but it was not clear to them if that was all teachers and staff or just the staff that teaches health education.

I know from personal experience that all staff need this training including nursing and school administration. It sounds trivial to a person who is not in an underrepresented group, but when the form for your child reads “mother and father”, that excludes a wide variety of families. A nurse in the most recent case this year did at least cross out the “mother” but that means all the other families only saw “mother and father”.

I teach LGBTQ+ Inclusion for the UMass Health System, so I happen to understand this issue from multiple perspectives. I know the administration would like to do the right thing. I also don’t believe most people intend to create a hostile environment for the parents and children in our system, but I also know that good intentions are not enough.

LGBTQ+ youth are generally healthy and remarkably resilient. However, coping with the stigma of being a sexual or gender minority, especially in families and communities that offer few supports, puts some LGBTQ+ youth at increased risk for multiple health concerns. The Institute of Medicine in 2011 released a summary report of all current research evidence on LGBTQ+ health disparities, and found that LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately at risk for homelessness, bullying, suicidal thoughts and attempts, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, HIV, and other critical health issues.

Discrimination and stigma can create stress, which can in turn can lead to increases in risky behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, and unprotected sex, as well as mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. For example, studies have found that school victimization, rejection from family or friends while ‘coming out,’ internalized homophobia and societal stigma are associated with substance use and mental health issues.(IOM 2011; Rosario et al, 2009).

I am calling for a comprehensive diversity program for the Worcester Public Schools, but one that focuses on the LGBTQ+ population specifically is warranted.