NYC Health Dept. Battles Parental Rejection with Pro-LGBT Ad Campaign

CAMBA, a large multi-service organization, launched a new public service campaign that employs a unique "advertising vehicle" -- public buses and bus shelters -- to promote its message of parental support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ) youth. This year's campaign includes a new focus on transgender youth, an especially vulnerable population.

"Transgender youth are a population that experiences inequity and bias to a level often difficult to comprehend," said Demetre Daskalakis, Assistant Commissioner for the Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control at the New York City Health Department. "Supporting these youth with positive messages is an important step to affirm that their lives matter."

The bus ads are part of a larger multi-pronged effort by CAMBA's Project ALY (Accept LGBTQ Youth) to change parental attitudes. The initiative is funded by the New York City Health Department.

For many LGBTQ youth in Central Brooklyn, being rejected by parents or family members can lead to risky and dangerous behavior. Project ALY, a CAMBA HIV prevention initiative, is working to change this by encouraging parents, guardians and families to accept these young people.

"Our goal is to build awareness, overcome biases, strengthen families and help young people gain self-esteem and self-worth -- lowering their risk of future health or mental health problems, including HIV infection and substance abuse," said Lisa Koffler, CAMBA Program Manager for Prevention Services.

The 2015 initiative includes a recently launched social marketing ad campaign focused on family acceptance of transgender youth, an extremely vulnerable population with high rates of homelessness, substance use and HIV infection.

To complement this campaign, Project ALY has relaunched its 2014 ads promoting parental acceptance of gay youth, Love Me. Accept Me. It Keeps Me Safer. Both ads aim to convey the message that family acceptance protects LGBTQ youth and decreases their health risks.

Project ALY also gets that message out through its Family Acceptance and LGBTQ Cultural Competency workshops for community groups, schools, and agencies. Interested parents and family members are encouraged to attend monthly support groups to discuss their attitudes and concerns. In a novel approach, Project ALY enlists supportive parents of LGBTQ youth, who share their stories and become role models for others who are not yet as accepting.

"Parents and family members who struggle with acceptance will come to understand the harmful effects that disapproval and rejection can have on LGBTQ youth," Koffler said. "This will help break the silence, remove stigma and motivate change throughout the community," she added.
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The campaign was developed with feedback from a number of focus groups and interviews with LGBTQ youth and parents who are supportive of their LGBTQ kids.

As the mother of one parent of transgender teen put it, "It's hard, it's something you can't understand and you don't want to accept, but that's your child. You've got to love them -- that's the bottom line. That's your child, no matter what."