Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender service members can now join in a newly formed support group at Madigan Army Medical Center.
The LGBT support group meets the second Thursday of every month at 5 p.m. at the Richmond Conference Room here; service members can participate on a drop-in basis.
"We want to be able to support the LGBT groups of military service members that are here, that may not have those people that they feel comfortable to reach out to and talk to, especially the transgender population," said Maj. Angela Shrader, chief of Madigan's Residential Treatment Facility and a doctorate psychiatric nurse practitioner; she also serves as a co-facilitator of the group.
While some other military treatment facilities offer such groups, this LGBT support group is the first of its kind at Madigan. Shrader said that while LGBT members can now openly serve since the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was repealed in 2011, many service members still feel trepidation about being open with others in the military.
"For those of us that are older, that have been around when 'don't ask don't tell' was here, even though everyone says it's safe to talk, there's still those of us that are older that struggle with that," said Shrader. "For so long as an older LGBT member, that just was never, never shared, and so I hid myself quite well in making sure people didn't know. I think it's just now we can be open, let's come together."
In addition to active duty LGBT service members, their spouses and significant others can also attend the group. 1st Lt. Casey Strong, the group's other co-facilitator and a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner here, shared that under "don't ask, don't tell" LGBT service members had to keep their family lives separate from their work lives. One of the goals of the group is to work to incorporate both their work and family spheres.
"This is something that will offer that 100 percent familial support, and no judgment and no discrimination whatsoever," Strong said.
She stressed that while she and Shrader work at Madigan, the group is for mutual support amongst peers and not therapy. They hope that LGBT service members can build connections and a community with each other. Such support may also help address unique stressors within the LGBT community; transgender people in particular are at a higher risk of suicide.
Shrader sees the group as "just a way for us to pull together and be a network for those people that may be struggling or just need somebody to reach out to." She envisions the group as one that is self-driven on what its members choose to focus on each month.
Strong also envisions the group perhaps building connections with area LGBT communities as well through volunteer work as a tie to their larger culture.
"Just being proud of who you are is something that we can finally offer," she said.
To learn more about the LGBT support group, call 253-968-3667.
Social Sharing