Wisconsin LGBT Youth to Gain from University Investment
By: Gary Hollander, Ph.D. - Posted on: 12/29/2006

The Wisconsin Partnership Program at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public health announced on December 20, 2006 that Diverse and Resilient, in partnership with several LGBT youth-serving organizations, will receive nearly $50,000 to develop a pilot program to increase our knowledge, awareness, resources, and capacity to prevent and reduce alcohol and other drug abuse among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in Wisconsin. Youth in programs that are part of Wisconsin’s Rainbow Alliance for Youth will be among those who will most immediately benefit from this project.

In announcing the award, Dr. Phil Farrell, MD, said, “The grants foster unique partnerships between community organizations and the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. These unique collaborations address a wide variety of public health challenges in Wisconsin, touching the breadth of the state.” June Martin Perry, who is a member of the Oversight and Advisory Committee responsible for the grants, added, “The Committee was very encouraged by the quality of the proposals received.”

The current award, entitled “Preventing Substance Abuse among LGBTQ Youth in Wisconsin,” will emphasize a community-based assessment of prominent health issues using an adaptation of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and administered on odd years by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

Kathy Oriel, MD, will serve as the physican faculy partner for this grant within the Department of Family Medicine. Dr. Oriel is also currently working with Diverse and Resilient on an adult health planning grant.

Since the inception of these grants awards three years ago, Diverse and Resilient has made successful applications for three planning grants. These have resulted in nearly $150,000 of efforts being put into developing the broad concepts and community supports necessary to address public health issues that face LGBT youth and adults. The first two of these grants have supported data collection, prioritizing, and planning for LGBT adult health issues such as substance use and abuse, tobacco use, mental health, and self-injury.

Funds from the grants have supported the efforts of 15 community health “promoters,” the collection of over 1,400 surveys in 2005 and 2006, a dozen community health information and planning sessions, and two white papers on health status of LGBT youth and adults. Nearly 2000 copies of these reports have been disseminated. (For a copy of the adult report, go to http://www.diverseandresilient.org/adult/documents/whitepaper-acx2.pdf. For a copy of the report on youth, download from http://www.diverseandresilient.org/youth/documents/whitepaper-y-ff.pdf.)