Introduction The following is a case study of Garrett, a fifteen year old white male. After coming out to his conservative parents that he is gay, Garrett ran away from home and has been gone for several days. After staying with various friends, Garrett ended up at the homeless youth shelter. To better understand what methods should be taken to help Garrett, this worker will pay close attention the the cultural contexts of Garrett himself, his family, and his environment.
Cultural Context Although gay rights organizations such as The Society for Human Rights and The Mattachine Society existed in the United States in the mid 1900’s, gays and lesbians were highly discriminated against throughout the 20th and into the 21st centuries (Franges, …show more content…
In June of 2015, the United States Supreme Court rules same-sex marriage to be legal and public discourse started include issues relating to people who identify as bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ). There are numerous resources nationwide for people in the LGBTQ community including, Friend Factor, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, Get Equal, the Human Rights Campaign, and many more. Local organization are also popping up across the U.S that center on providing services, educating communities, and creating unity. However, people who identify as LGBTQ still face adversity today. Many gay or lesbian couples are not able to adopt children, transgender people are sometimes forced to use bathrooms that don’t coincide with their identified gender, and LGBT youth are especially at risk for becoming homeless due to lack of acceptance from family and …show more content…
From an early age I was taught that homosexuality is a sin and those who were homosexual will go to hell if they don’t repent and turn away from their sin. Because of this background, it could be easy for me to be homophobic just like Garrett’s parents and classmates. Although I strive to treat people equally and with respect, there is still a small part of me that believes homosexuality is a sin. This is something I would need to keep myself extremely aware of while working with Garrett in order to keep my personal beliefs out of the process. I would also need to prepare myself for how Garrett would react to knowing that I am a Christian. He might look at me and think I am no different than the people in his life who hurt and rejected him. This is where knowing what is and isn’t appropriate to self-disclose is especially
Cultural Context Although gay rights organizations such as The Society for Human Rights and The Mattachine Society existed in the United States in the mid 1900’s, gays and lesbians were highly discriminated against throughout the 20th and into the 21st centuries (Franges, …show more content…
In June of 2015, the United States Supreme Court rules same-sex marriage to be legal and public discourse started include issues relating to people who identify as bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ). There are numerous resources nationwide for people in the LGBTQ community including, Friend Factor, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, Get Equal, the Human Rights Campaign, and many more. Local organization are also popping up across the U.S that center on providing services, educating communities, and creating unity. However, people who identify as LGBTQ still face adversity today. Many gay or lesbian couples are not able to adopt children, transgender people are sometimes forced to use bathrooms that don’t coincide with their identified gender, and LGBT youth are especially at risk for becoming homeless due to lack of acceptance from family and …show more content…
From an early age I was taught that homosexuality is a sin and those who were homosexual will go to hell if they don’t repent and turn away from their sin. Because of this background, it could be easy for me to be homophobic just like Garrett’s parents and classmates. Although I strive to treat people equally and with respect, there is still a small part of me that believes homosexuality is a sin. This is something I would need to keep myself extremely aware of while working with Garrett in order to keep my personal beliefs out of the process. I would also need to prepare myself for how Garrett would react to knowing that I am a Christian. He might look at me and think I am no different than the people in his life who hurt and rejected him. This is where knowing what is and isn’t appropriate to self-disclose is especially