Louisiana Public Health Institute hosts first 'Geaux Talk' in Shreveport for LGBTQ+ youth

On Saturday April 22 the Louisiana Public Health Insitute (LPHI) hosted a town hall at Louisiana State University Shreveport with LGBTQ+ youth as the topic of discussion.

"Geaux Talk is focused on starting conversations about youth health and connecting the youth and young people with youth-serving professionals to build stronger networks of care," explained LPHI Senior Program Coordinator Arien Ragster.

The panel included parents, doctors and therapists, teachers, public officials and members of the LGBTQ+ community. This town hall invited the community to come out to bring awareness to the physical, mental and emotional well-being of queer individuals.

"I definitely don't claim to know everything, but I definitely have a thirst of knowledge to want to improve things," said Louisiana board-certified social worker and owner of LDS Consulting and Therapist Development LaSheka Shine. "Your child is your child no matter who they choose to be, that doesn't change the dynamics of their being."

ShrevePride, People Acting for Change and Equality (PACE) and the Shreve Memorial Library were also in attendance as support for the event and to provide resources to attendees.

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Topics included what a safe space is and how to create one, current policies in place and what changes need to be made, concerns with bullying and education, how to find gender-affirming medical care, therapy recommendations and more.

"Our community needs to develop programs to foster inclusivity within our policies and programs across the board," said panelist Adrienne Burton. "Also, our community should ensure there's fundamental knowledge within our schools of how to deal with our youth. It's a mentality, we have to change what people see, we have to change what people say, we have to change what people do. And so, in order to transform our community, let's be honest - we have to first transform ourselves."

If you missed out on this first town hall, visit the Geaux Talk website to find out when the next one will be and for additional information and resources.

Meredith G. White is the arts and culture reporter for the Shreveport Times. You can find her on Facebook as Meredith G. White, on Instagram and Twitter as @meredithgwhite, and email her at mgwhite@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: LSU Shreveport's first town hall focuses on LGBTQ+ youth issues