Engaging and valuing LGB young people in your services

• Contact LGB young people through outreach and or through media or publications they may access, including the Internet
• Provide comfortable and accessible environments for LGB young people to meet
• Provide an environment that is physically and emotionally safe for LGB young people and workers to meet in
• Provide appropriate staffing for the groups or individuals you work with and for workers to work in pairs in group sessions
• Provide a youth forum or space to discuss fears and expectations of the service or groups, and develop a working contract that will be kept under constant review
• Spend time on developing working relationships with LGB young people in groups
• Allow the project to develop over a reasonable time. Funding must be for more than one year, as it may not produce significant take up of services by LGB young people in the first 12 months
• Provide social activities on a regular basis to compliment the group
• Provide services that can diversify and work with other partners to provide a range of services
• Services should utilise LGB young peoples own talents and skills and encourage LGB young people to volunteer on various levels
• Services should provide clear and concise information regarding their provision, clearly outlining their aims
• Provide services and publications that depict positive images and role models of gay men. See www.ygm.org.uk for examples of positive imagery and role models.