Creating welcoming communities for LGBTQ migrants: Living room-style chats for service providers

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning/queer (LGBTQ) people face widespread oppression around the world, leading some to decide emigrate, and some to be forced to seek refuge in other countries. As a result of past human rights abuses, often by their own ethnic communities, many are reluctant to connect with their co-nationals once in a new country. This leaves them isolated with no community to turn to. Hence, it is critical to enhance service providers’ knowledge and attitudes about this population, thereby enhancing their capacity to serve these clients effectively. We describe a training for service providers in the form of a “living room-style chat.” A pilot evaluation of the training indicates that participants’ confidence in working with LGBTQ migrants increased across several dimensions. We present recommendations for replicating these living room-style chats in other communities.