RECOMMENDATION 1
Recommendation 1:
Redesign health system services and programs for 2SLGBTQ+ youth, especially mental health services & care for trans youth.
The Problem:
The health system in Ontario does not serve 2SLGBTQ+ youth well.
2SLGBTQ+ youth rely on themselves and their peers for support and care:
1/3 of 2SLGBTQ+ youth in Ontario said that their mental health needs are not being met.
40% of trans youth and 40% of Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ youth say that their mental health needs are not being met.
Trans youth face barriers to accessing trans health care, including hormones and surgery.
Youth under 16 are not often trusted to make decisions about their own health care, and there are few resources available to provide guidance to service providers.
Access to 2SLGBTQ+ competent providers is a huge gap across Ontario, especially in the suburbs, smaller towns, rural areas, and on reserves.
The health system is not neutral or equitable. Any recommendations for change need to understand that 2SLGBTQ+ communities have and continue to experience harm by the health system, especially people who are also:
Black and/or Indigenous
Disabled
Immigrant, refugee or non-status
Poor
Homeless
What 2SLGBTQ+ Youth Are Saying
“Every Mental Health/Community organization [needs to be] competent in LGBTQ2S needs and issues so every community space is safe.”
—Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ youth in Kenora
“[We need] accessible hormone replacement therapy for all trans folks.”
— Trans youth under 18 in Southwestern Ontario
“[We need] better health care/lower wait times for transgender health (hormones, surgery, etc).”
— Trans youth in Ottawa
2SLGBTQ+ youth, especially racialized and Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ youth, must be leading the discussions on what needs to change in the health system.
“Create a more timely health care system.”
— Trans youth in Ottawa
“Opening a mental health clinic specifically for 2SLGBTQ youth.”
— Indigenous Two-Spirit youth under 18 in rural eastern Ontario
“Gender clinic closer to home.”
— 2SLGBTQ+ youth in south western Ontario
“For OHIP to not cover HRT means that a lot of us have to choose between transition and rent, or food, or other essentials. Take down this barrier and you will save so many trans lives.”
— 2SLGBTQ+ youth in Brantford
Ideas to #DoBetter
A Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ care clinic on reserve that offers traditional and mainstream/western health care support to Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ youth. The care clinic staff and volunteers are Two Spirit and LGBTQ+, including peer volunteers, Elders, and mental health wellness providers.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), the group that regulates the practice of medicine in Ontario, recruits 2SLGBTQ+ youth to help develop a standard of care for 2SLGBTQ+ patients.
A youth-centered organization funds new peer-based mental health support groups for youth hosted at all of the city’s community centres. 2SLGBTQ+ youth are involved in the design of the curriculum, hired as peers, and decide to host some groups specifically for racialized and Indigenous 2SLGBTQ+ youth.
The Ontario Health Team in a suburb, led by a hospital, identifies care for trans youth as a priority. The hospital works with the community health centre, walk-in clinics, community mental health agencies, and the local settlement agency to collectively develop “wrap around” care for trans youth. Trans youth are paid consultants for all parts of the planning and implementation.