Rainbow peer project - the lgbtq+ population is a historically marginalized community with a lack of access to healthcare including mental health services

The lack of lgbtq+ affirming healthcare can cause medical trauma which then leads to individual's to either stop seeking services or continue with a non-affirming provider that causes harm. The suicide rates are withing the lgbtq+ community are alarming. The trevor project estimates that at least one lgbtq+ youth between the ages of 13-24 attempts suicide every 45 seconds in the U.S. Affirming providers and a whole health approach within the lgbtq+ care can help to reduce trauma and suicide rates for individuals in this community. The lgbtq+ community inherently has a multitude of unique needs, and IT is our intention to ensure that individuals in this community have access to peer support services that are aligned with those needs and able to address them in an educated, inclusive, and meaningful manner across the entire state of pennsylvania, regardless of geographical or service area inequities. In order to address this identified area of need, the goals of our proposed project, the rainbow peer project (RPP), are (1) to develop and pilot a true lgbtq+ peer curriculum designed to meet the unique needs of those individuals within the lgbtq+ community. Topics covered in this curriculum will include but not be limited to: suicide prevention, affirming care; self-acceptance; understanding and resolving trauma; self-advocacy; ethical boundaries; SUD; and whole health integration. An additional goal of the proposed project is (2) to train members of the certified peer professional workforce to engage adults and transition-age adults utilizing a true peer-to-peer approach within the lgbtq+ community as an opportunity for individuals to participate in their own recovery in a meaningful way. A third goal of the proposed project (3) is to pilot peer service delivery within this community in a completely virtual environment to ensure that the developed training program is uniquely suited to meet the identified needs of this population, to ensure that service delivery is supportive and engaging in a meaningful manner, and to ensure that lgbtq+ peers have access to informed and supportive services regardless of their geographic barriers.