Social Work in School: How to Bridge the Gap and Create Safety for LGBTQIA2S+ Youth
Author: Sarah Murray
“I just feel understood here. No one understood me in my old school.”
“I had no one to talk to about my sexuality before. Now, I can talk to everyone here about who I am without feeling ashamed.”
“I am in a place that embraces my differences and sees it as a strength rather than a weakness.”
Imagine hearing a child say these things. Imagine knowing they feel safe and understood. I have heard children say this to me in the most rare school communities in a state that put local funding toward change where change is needed.
As a clinician who has seen firsthand and continues to hear stories of self isolation, fear and the many mental health struggles in the LGBTQIA2S+ community, it is an imperative conversation we need to continue to have as an effort to support youth to feel safe to explore their authentic self.
A school environment that embodies individual pride and self expression and does not stigmatize mental health is an environment that saves, transforms and empowers a person to be the best version of themselves despite societal restrictions or systems of oppression. As LGBTQIA2S+ are among the highest rates of suicidality and houselessness, there is no question that we need to do better to protect this population.
How can school social workers improve school environments?
School social workers can be the bridge from the individual to the community and family care that is needed in multicultural education, diverse identity and mental health supports. With the understanding of the need for developmental support, trauma-informed environments, and the promotion of equitable, inclusive, and diverse communities, adding educated school social workers to the school system would voice the voiceless that have been oppressed in an unfair schooling system with slow and insufficient reparations.
Due to the increased need for mental health support for youth during the COVID-19 crisis and the historically systemic lack of access, attention, and care in the education system that directly affects marginalized communities, the need for urgent mental health interventions and responses are imperative for a more equitable future in national public health. As seen on a local community level, the impact of school social workers has proven to connect micro and mezzo change in communities by filling in the gap of response to youths socioemotional development, need for extended resources as well as accountability in their educational progress. In order to create immediate solutions to a long-term systemic problem, the need to increase school social workers at the national level would greatly repair the mental health response to these increasing issues.
Why do trans youth in particular need safe environments?
While every child is trying to find themselves, trans youth is going through a much more complex identity exploration. Gender dysphoria or body dysphoria will be much more challenging in an environment without a trusted and informed space to explore these complex changes. Many families, particularly with more traditional influences, can struggle to support and understand their child’s needs which can exacerbate feelings of isolation and depressive symptoms. A trusted someone in a school environment can bridge this gap and advocate for a child that needs this support at this time more than ever.
Click here for some NYC Transgender and Gender Non-Binary Resources.
Here are some more ways school social workers can help:
School social workers are the eyes and ears of the social issues and interactions in spaces that others are not attuned to listening to. They can be proactive and supportive in resolving issues, de-escalating a situation and responding to crises in a more effective way.
School social workers can see the individual needs of each child and adhere to proper interventions to empower them and work through their differences.
School social workers can bring diverse groups together to better instill an inclusive environment.
School social workers can educate parents and teachers on implementing trauma informed care and proper ways to support their child's individualized needs.
School social workers can educate staff and the student body on proper use of gender and sexual identity that can break stigmas and empower the student body to create a more educated and accepting space.
School social workers can connect families to appropriate resources for other forms of community and care.
School social workers can give youth a sense of hope that there are trusted people out there willing to help.