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Free seminar Oct. 16 on “How to be an Ally for LGTBQ Youth”

The UNC Injury Prevention Research Center and the N.C. Academic Center for Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention are offering a presentation on Wed., Oct. 16 on “How to be an Ally for LGTBQ Youth.” It is free and open to all.

It will be held in the UNC School of Social Work’s auditorium from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with a reception to follow. 1.5 contact hours are available for continuing education.

The North Carolina Youth Suicide Prevention Program, a collaboration between NCDPH, Youth Suicide Prevention and NCDPI, Healthy Schools, has implemented “How to be an Ally,” a training program designed to train school and other professionals working with youth in organizational settings to support LGTBQ youth, prevent suicide among LGTBQ youth, and promote organizational change supporting LGTBQ youth. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 12-18 year-olds in the U.S. LGTBQ youth are 2-4 times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers.

This seminar will discuss the program, its implementation strengths and challenges in North Carolina, and preliminary evaluation results.
The presenters are Sherry Lehman, M.Ed., LPC,  youth suicide prevention school consultant at the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, N.C. Division of Public Health, Injury and Violence Prevention Branch; Ellen Essick, Ph.D., HIV policy and programs consultant, N.C. Department of Public Instruction; and Lawrence Scholl, MPH, a doctoral student at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

For questions, contact Debbie Barrett.