Episode 5: Housing and Health Barriers Faced by 2SLGBTQ+ Youth



“Safety is a major concern that queer and trans folks continue to experience and many of the systems we do have in place in canada that are in place to support all young people, those systems are often not constructed for (or trained appropriately to meet) the needs of 2SLGTBQ+ youth, especially indigenous and racialized youth, and trans and non-binary youth.” -Alex Abramovich

In this episode, Dr. Alex Abramovich will be highlighting the barriers that 2SLGBTQ+ youth face when accessing housing and health services. He will discuss how the issue of safety comes into place and how important it is for 2SLGBTQ+ youth to feel like they can be their full authentic selves when choosing different programs.

Links to resources mentioned in this episode:

• Alcohol and cannabis use during the COVID-19 pandemic among transgender, gender-diverse, and cisgender adults in Canada
• Examining COVID-19 vaccine uptake and attitudes among 2SLGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness
• Barriers to and facilitators of accessing HIV services for street-involved youth in Canada and Kenya

Guest Biography

Dr. Alex Abramovich is an Independent Scientist with the Institute of Mental Health Policy Research at The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. He is an Assistant Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Dr. Abramovich is a Canada Research Chair in 2-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (2SLGBTQ+) youth homelessness and mental health. He has been addressing 2SLGBTQ+ youth homelessness for almost 15 years. He is an internationally recognized leader in the area of 2SLGBTQ+ health and homelessness. The overarching aim of his program of research is to investigate the health and social inequities experienced by 2SLGBTQ+ individuals. In this work, Dr. Abramovich focuses on improving the health and service needs of 2SLGBTQ+ youth and young adults.