June 28, 2023
Media Contact:
Chase Cook, Acting Director, Office of Communications, 410-767-8649
Maryland Department of Health partners with The Trevor Project to expand support for LGBTQ+ youth
Year-long partnership to provide training, resources and support
Baltimore, MD – The Maryland Department of Health today announced Caring Out Loud, a year-long partnership with The Trevor Project to bring trainings, resources and support to LGBTQ+ Marylanders.
“As behavioral health professionals, we must continue to address disparities, build hope and save lives,” said Maryland Department of Health Secretary Dr. Laura Herrera Scott. “This partnership reflects our commitment to protecting hope and providing necessary care to LGBTQ+ Marylanders.”
The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ young people, found in their most recent U.S. National Survey that 41% of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including half of transgender and nonbinary young people.
The Caring Out Loud campaign will include LGBTQ+ focused training for the department’s Behavioral Health Administration staff, members of the Governor’s Commission for Suicide Prevention, and healthcare professionals in Maryland’s 24 jurisdictions.
“LGBTQ+ young people deserve to have access to culturally competent health care from a provider that understands them and their unique experiences,” said Interim Director of Public Training for The Trevor Project Keygan Miller (they/them). “We are so proud to partner with the Maryland Department of Health to ensure that providers and healthcare professionals serving LGBTQ+ Marylanders are equipped to support their needs via best-practice care and ultimately, save lives.”
Ally Training offers professionals who work with youth a basic framework for understanding LGBTQ+ identities and challenges. It includes information about common terminology, the “coming out” process, and challenges at home, in school, and the community. CARE (Connect, Accept, Respond, Empower) Training offers youth-serving professionals information focused on mental health, suicide prevention, and environmental stressors that contribute to the heightened risk for suicide among self-identified LGBTQ+ youth.
The Trevor Project will also serve as an active consultant for the department on suicide prevention and outreach, and will contribute to the Maryland State Suicide Prevention Toolkit, a resource for Maryland K-12 Schools currently in development. The toolkit will support public and private schools with prevention, intervention and postvention strategies for school administrators, teachers, parents and students. The department’s Office of Suicide Prevention aims to finalize this vital new resource by late summer.
Additional mental health resources:
Learn more at health.maryland.gov/bha.
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The Maryland Department of Health is dedicated to protecting and improving the health and safety of all Marylanders through disease prevention, access to care, quality management and community engagement.
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