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Sample Proposal to Provide Safe Space for LGBTQ Youth

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer-identified (LGBTQ) youth are a population with a unique set of service needs. Existing research on effective service methods with LGBTQ youth is limited. Youth empowerment holds potential as an approach that can impact well-being among youth who face discrimination. The current study explores the relationship between the social justice youth development framework and youth empowerment in a sample of LGBTQ youth. There are 3 kinds of people: Those who make things happen; those who watch things happen; and those who wonder what just happened. If you are one of them who make things happen. This sample proposal ‘Provide Safe Space for LGBTQ Youth’ is designed for you. This proposal is designed to provide a safe space and to be a resource for at-risk LGBTQ youth in South Korea. If you are searching for a proposal based on LGBTQ, get a detailed look at the project.

Introduction of the Project

Vision Statement

  • To provide a safe space and to be a resource for at-risk LGBTQ youth in South Korea. 

Mission Statement

  • To assist, care for and empower LGBTQ Korean youth in at-risk situations, and to offer resources for their continued healthy self-development.
  • Crisis counseling and intervention
  • Peer counseling, parental counseling, spiritual counseling, etc.
  • Programs to enhance self-esteem and recovery from trauma, stress, depression, and anger
  • Education programs: academic support, education on human rights
  • Shelter for LGBTQ youth

Target

  • LGBTQ youth who suffer or are bullied in their homes and schools
  • LGBTQ youth who are homeless, living in the streets
  • LGBTQ youth who are conflicted because of their religious beliefs

Need of the Project

Many Koreans deny the existence of LGBTQ Korean youth

  • LGBTQ Korean youth cannot reveal themselves because of malicious publicity and news reports saying that homosexuality is harmful and can have a bad influence on teenagers. In research done in 2007 by the National (South Korea) Youth Policy Institute, 5.8% of 6,160 students responded that they have a homosexual orientation.
  • Student  Rights  Ordinance,  prohibiting  discrimination  based  on  one’s  sexual  orientation  and gender identity, was legislated in Seoul, XXX Province, and other local governments. In reality, fact-finding surveys and education programs have not been carried out in order to implement the ordinance. Moreover, the LGBTQ youth’s right to receive education is denied.
  • LGBTQ youth drop-outs and runaway LGBTQ youth have never been researched and it is not certain what kind of difficulties they face and why they drop out of school or run away from home. Data released by Statistics Korea in 2012 shows that 12.2% of Korean students in middle school and high school have run away from home at least once and 61.3% of them said it was because of family discord. Nevertheless, the life of LGBTQ youth in South Korea is uncertain and unknown.

LGBTQ youth are very likely to be discriminated against due to less recognition than their straight peers

  • According to Study of Human Rights Awareness of the Citizens of Seoul (2012), sexual minorities receive the same amount of low respect (33.7%) as that of detainees (32.7%) and female sex workers (30.9%).
  • According to the Final Report of the Fact-finding Study of Human Rights of Children in Seoul (2012), 43% of children and teenage respondents were willing to make friends with minority peers but only 28.8% of the respondents were willing to be a peer of sexual minorities. In the case of parents, 51.2% showed positive attitudes toward minority students but only 15.1% for sexual minority students.

LGBTQ youth are exposed to bullying and violence at school

51.5% of LGBTQ youth responded that they were insulted verbally, and 20% have been threatened with physical violence or have had their possessions ruined. 13.8% were spat on, 18.5% had stuff thrown at them, 10.8% were sexually abused, and more than 10% have been assaulted by punching, kicking, or even weapons. (National Youth Policy Institute, a Study of the Lives of Sexual Minority Youths, 2006) 134 LGBTQ youths, which is 53.8% of the respondents, reported that discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is serious in schools. 16.1% of them responded that it is very serious and 44% have experienced insults and bullying in school. It has been reported that homosexuality was frequently regarded as a mental disease and spoken of in derogatory terms, ending up with assaults. LGBTQ youth who participated in the survey wrote: “I seriously wanted to die every time my classmates treated me as a germ and verbally abused me,” “My teacher, who promised to keep my secret, mocked me sexually instead, so I was even more shunned by my classmates.”

LGBTQ youth are exposed to a mentally unhealthy environment

  • In a survey conducted by the National Youth Policy Institute in 2007 on 1,386 teenage students, LGBTQ youth had lower self-esteem(27.68) that the average level(29.67). Their depression level (1.30) was higher than the average level (0.97).
  • 77.4% of LGBTQ youth have considered committing suicide and 47.4% have actually attempted it. This figure is almost five-times larger than the percentage (10%) of straight teens who have attempted self-harm or suicide. (National Youth Policy Institute of Korea. 2006. A Study of the Lives of Sexual Minority Youths)
  • 76.6% of LGBTQ youth have considered committing suicide and 58.5% have actually attempted it.
  • A 16-year-old boy who was a freshman in a high school in XXXX ended up committing suicide after  he  had  suffered  from homophobic bullying  in  school  and  ran  away  from  home.  The victim’s family is currently in litigation with the school and the teacher.
  • Considering the results of previous studies as shown above, LGBTQ youth are highly exposed to verbal and physical violence in homophobic social environments and they face socio- psychological suffering such as a high risk of committing suicide, depression and anger accompanied by low self-esteem. Therefore, we urgently need to prepare a multi-dimensional support system for LGBTQ youth to provide crisis intervention, help them recover from psychological pain and trauma, help enhance self-esteem and restore relationships with their parents or peers.

Action Plan of the Project

Stage 1: Street Counseling of LGBTQ Youth

  • Street counseling (peer counseling, parental counseling, etc.)
  • Fact-finding research
  • Provision of snacks
  • Hand out supplies (e.g. socks, underwear)
  • Network with other LGBTQ-friendly teenage shelters and institutions
  • Share office space with Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea

Stage 2: 24-Hour Hotline for At-risk LGBTQ Youth

  • Network with suicide prevention centers and other shelters (e.g. suicide prevention center, youth crisis support center, youth shelters, etc)
  • Establish 24-hour hotline: via telephone, SNS, e-mail
  • Run regular human rights education programs and counselor development programs
  • Create an independent office space for counseling and education for LGBTQ youths

Stage 3: Short-term Shelter

  • Provide food, clothing, and lodging
  • Resolve problems through teen counseling and parental counseling
  • Run programs to enhance self-esteem, recovery from trauma, depression, and suicide attempts
  • Run programs on academic support & human rights

Stage 4: Long-term Shelter

  • Same as Stage 3, but on a long-term basis

Stage 5: Road to independence in cooperation with parents

  • Run talent development & job search programs and provide career counseling
  • Establishing a Sustainable Rainbow Teen Safe Space
  • Promote the Rainbow Teen Safe Space as a governmental project and implement it in policy-making
  • Arrange human resource pool of activists, experts, and volunteers
  • Establish financial resource through domestic and global fund-raising
  • Collect statistics through fact-finding surveys and counseling

Budget

Stage 1: Street counseling and sharing office space

  • Fundraising target: XXXXX KRW
  • Personnel expenses were estimated on the basis of the financial report :XXXX KRW for basic wage + xxxx KRW for meals and transportation
  • We are planning to hold street counseling twice a month for 20 beneficiaries each time. We estimate 10% of the beneficiaries to receive crisis counseling.

Stage 2: Create a 24-hour hot-line and an independent office space for counseling and education

  • Fundraising target: XXXX KRW
  • Stage3,4,and 5:Build LGBTQ youth shelter

Funding target: XXXX KRW

  • Shelter will be established with the deposit from Stage 2 and the funds for Stage 3.
  • The number of staff members has to be increased to manage a 24-hour shelter. In case of personnel increase, funding target will increase accordingly.
  • The projects will proceed when we reach the funding targets for each stage.
  • Fundraising for the next stage will commence after a final report is released.