The LGBTQ+ Military Community: Resources for Service Professionals

By Jason Jowers, MS, MFT

Many special considerations should take place for service professionals working with military service members and their families who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community. The intersectionality of LGBTQ+ identity and military culture is nuanced and has oftentimes been a clash of values and lifestyles. Service professionals must be aware of ever-changing state and federal laws that are being put into place which limit the care and freedoms of the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. With this in mind, we wanted to share some resources that can expand what it means to be an ally for members of the LGBTQ+ community within the military.

LGBTQ+ Military Community Resources  

The Modern Military Association of America (MNAA)is the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ military and veteran non-profit. For service providers, the MMAA has the Rainbow Shield Certification program, an LGBTQ+ competency training. The program is open to all community service providers and advocates.

The Trevor Project is “the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25” (Trevor Project, 2021). The Trevor Project has many resources and support for children and teens in military families. These resources and information can help make a difference for young military service members in the LGBTQ+ community.

Love is Respect is a project of the National Domestic Violence Hotline that offers information, support, and advocacy to young people between the ages of 13 and 26 who have questions or concerns about their romantic relationships. They also specifically have info for individuals experiencing dating abuse in LGBTQ+ relationships. These resources for LGBTQ+ communities show additional obstacles that LGBTQ+ youth face and provide direct access to 24/7 help from a qualified professional.

Finally, we wanted to share past, present, and future OneOp programming highlighting the work being done to support the LGBTQ+ Military Community.

• These two webinars from 2017 provide foundational insight and guidance for working with LGBTQ military youth and families. “The ABCs of LGBT: Learning Language and Inclusive Practices in Work with LGBT Families” and “TRANSforming Conversations: Addressing Needs of Transgender Youth and Their Families” are webinars featuring Dr. Jenifer McGuire, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota. Dr. McGuire studies the well-being of young people who identify as transgender, with a specific focus on ways that family environments can best support healthy development. Free CEs are still available for these foundational webinars.
• More recently, our Practicing Connections podcast series released an episode entitled “Supporting Military Families with LGBTQ+ Youth with Cathy Marcello.” Cathy Marcello is the Program Director for the MilPride program for the Modern Military Association of America.
• Finally, OneOp has two upcoming webinars on May 4^th and May 11^th “Providing Affirmative Care to the LGBTQ+ Military Community” and “Care Considerations for the Transgender and Gender-Diverse Military Community” which will take place both days at 11 am EST. RSVP for these live webinars on their respective event pages for a chance to engage with professionals and ask questions to our presenter!