Joelle Pitts, LCSW, Valley Youth House’s Associate Director of Bucks County Housing & Emergency Services and Kim Ketterer, Youth Programs Manager at the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center recently presented at the “Briging Gaps” Conference in Bucks County.  Their session, “Creating Community: skills and strategies for creating inclusive spaces and empowered youth” focused on identyfing 3 ways you can create safe spaces for LGBTQI young people, 1 immediate step your agency can take to help current policy, practice or forms to be more inclusive, developing an understanding of youth empowerment and trauma informed practice models that engage young people and create safe spaces, developing an increased comfort level in having conversations with young people about their gender and sexual identity, and identify 3 resources for LGBTQI young people in our community.

This event from the ‘Bucks County Now is the Time: Healthy Transitions Grant,’ and in partnership with the Bucks County Departments of Behavioral Health and Mental Health/Developmental Programs, Delaware Valley University and Magellan Behavioral Health of Pennsylvania, will focus on providing a better understanding of how to engage and support LGBTQIA youth and young adults in their journey to adulthood.