LGBTQ+ Health and Wellbeing Service

The overall aim of the Service is to promote the health, wellbeing and equality of LGBTQ+ people aged 11-25 in County Durham.

The objectives of the Service are to:

Support LGBTQ+ young people to stay in their education setting and reach their full potential, including supporting the transition from primary to secondary school and from secondary school into post-16 settings.

Improve mental and emotional wellbeing of LGBTQ+ young people.

Provide age-appropriate relationship, sex and health education (RSHE) that complements statutory RSHE curriculum.

Improve the sexual health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ young people.

Promote healthy lifestyles.

Increase resilience and safety.

Reduce social isolation experienced by LGBTQ+ young people.

Tackle stigma and discrimination experienced by the LGBTQ+ community.

Reduce health inequalities by facilitating access for LGBTQ+ young people to appropriate services.

Develop and implement pathways between interdependent specialist services and universal provision specifically including, but not limited to, Emotional Resilience Nurses within the 0-25 Family Health Service.

Use a range of evidence-based tools and interventions, which will be agreed with the Commissioner and regularly reviewed, to identify need and support for LGBTQ+ young people.

Provision of brief intervention, where appropriate, following Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) screening.

Where appropriate, use a whole family approach to improve relationships and engage wider family members in support plans and interventions.

Support partner organisations to develop and implement more inclusive practice through an agreed training offer.