Dear Consortium Members,

The Executive Board of the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals was presented with the opportunity to be thought partners with The Jed Foundation on a project called Proud and Thriving: Supporting the Mental Health of Queer Spectrum and Trans Spectrum College Students.

 

The Jed Foundation is working collaboratively with a group of subject matter experts on the development of a toolkit that provides guidance to colleges and universities on how they may improve mental health outcomes among queer-spectrum and trans-spectrum college students.  The impetus for this project was the review of a white paper published by the Tyler Clementi Center that highlighted concerning findings about the state of mental health of LGBTQ-identified college students.  It was decided that it would be helpful to colleges and universities if we produced a set of recommendations and toolkit focused on creating affirming and supportive campus environments to protect the emotional health and prevent suicide for LGBTQ-identified students on college campuses.  This opportunity comes to us at a critical moment when LGBTQ+ college students we work with are in significant need of inclusive and informed mental health resources from the institutions they attend.

 

This is where we need your support.  We would like to open up this opportunity to two (2) Consortium members to serve as representatives for the organization and our field at large.  Here is what would be required to participate:

  • Participate in biweekly meetings starting in June for the duration of the project (4-6 months)
  • Communicate updates and progress with the Consortium Executive Board
  • Develop a formalized survey/inventory of current or planned programs and services on college campuses that can be added as promising practices in the toolkit; work with board to send out to members (all responses would be shared with our membership)
  • Provide ongoing feedback and perspective around best practices and inclusive language for project outputs
  • Serve as a thought leader around LGBTQ+ college students and their mental health
  • Must bring passion for and desire to develop a toolkit that could inform best practices focused on LGBTQ+ college student mental health
  • Must provide an intersectional lens to all involvement in the project
  • We welcome and encourage professionals at all experience levels, those with or without formal mental health training/backgrounds

Knowing that there may be many members interested and to ensure inclusive representation of our work, we ask that you complete this short form to express your interest by Friday, 5/22/20 at 9:00am PST/10:00am MST/11:00am CST/12:00pm EST.

 

If you have questions about this opportunity, please email us at [email protected].

 

In Solidarity,

Chris Woods (he/him) & JT Turner (they/them)
Internal & External Coordinators