Mentoring Youth Who Identify as LGBTQ

Who: Programs who want to or already provide mentoring services to LGBTQ youth.

What: The LGBTQ Supplement to the Elements of Effective Practice for Mentoring™ responds to a long-standing call to extend the reach and quality of mentoring relationships to one of our nation’s most underserved, marginalized, and vulnerable populations- youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQQ). As a well-documented body of research has noted, large numbers of LGBTQQ youth are growing up at a deficit- facing difficult odds due to day-to-day experiences with societal stigma, victimization, bias, and rejection. Given such a landscape, there is a need for caring adults, advocates, and mentors now more than ever.

Why: There is a growing recognition in the mentoring field that the failure to provide thoughtful, responsive, and inclusive programming leaves LGBTQ youth at risk for additional harm each time they receive services from ill-prepared staff and incompatible mentors.