Hudson Pride Center (HPC) is a leading provider of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ+) cultural sensitivity training throughout New Jersey. Our 25-year history of providing the social and wellness services needed to establish a home and a voice to the LGBTQ+ community of Hudson County and the surrounding northern New Jersey region has enabled us to establish a training program designed to enhance the ability of service providers to deliver LGBTQ-affirming care to this all too often marginalized client population.

We know that developing a sense of cultural humility is a process that takes time (and, frankly, is never fully completed). We, therefore, host three levels of training that address various aspects of LGBTQ+ affirming care within set time-spans:

• 101 (90 min) – Reviews basic concepts of sexuality and appropriate terminology
• 201 (3.5 hours) – 101 content + explores historical issues of discrimination, power, & privilege
• 301 (6 hours) – 201 content + explores organizational change and issues specifically relevant to training host/audience (e.g., for healthcare facility staff – the bio-psycho-social health issues common to LGBTQ+ patients; for school staff – addressing bullying, transgender bathrooms, etc.)

These trainings are delivered in-person at your facility for audiences of up to 20 participants at a time in order to facilitate adult learning and provide sufficient time and personal attention for answering questions about sensitive subject material; however, we can also deliver them at HPC upon request for no additional fee.

We may be able to accommodate larger than 20 audiences on a case by case basis – if we are able to ensure program quality can be maintained

LGBTQ+ PRIDE TRAINING

During national June Pride month, August Pride month in Jersey City and in celebration of Coming Out Day in October, HPC can offer a training on LGBTQ+ history and culture to LGBTQ+ employee groups, university student/faculty LGBTQ+ groups LGBTQ+ community groups or any business/organization just interested in celebrating LGBTQ+ pride in this meaningful way.

The 2.5-hour program will focus on LGBTQ+ historical milestones through history pre-Stonewall as well as in the over 50 years since that turning point in the LGBTQ+ community’s struggle to achieve equal rights. It will also examine LGBTQ+ culture through representation in media, discuss the present state of LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S. and speak to what tasks still remain before us.

Maximum audience size with one trainer can range between 20-30 participants without concern

HIV / AIDS TRAINING

HPC also offers several HIV/AIDS trainings specifically designed to meet the learning needs of addiction/mental health professionals, of other non-medical/nursing service professionals (e.g., teachers, social service workers) and of general community members (e.g., business owners, clients, parents, college students, etc.). Please note that these trainings are not medically-focused and no licensed medical provider delivers them, but they will cover health and health-related topics.

Each of these trainings explore, to various degrees, the basic biology of HIV disease, its historical rise in public awareness and policy decision-making, its impact on various marginalized communities, the basics of current HIV treatment and prevention and what we can do to help (e.g. for mental health professional trainings, there will be an HIV adherence counseling module; for teacher trainings, an LGBTQ+ inclusive safer sex education module; for community trainings, an HIV prevention education module, etc.).

Depending upon the depth of the content being requested, training length can last anywhere from 2 hours to 4.5 hours in 30-minute intervals. Audience size can go as high as 40 with one trainer.

LGBTQ-AFFIRMING CARE

Lastly, HPC can also offer Technical Assistance in LGBTQ+ affirming care by coming to your agency and helping you to review your organization’s policies and procedures and environmental spaces to assess how LGBTQ+ affirming and welcoming they are and then work with your leadership to make appropriate revisions so your agency will be viewed as an LGBTQ+ affirming space by the LGBTQ+ community you serve – or wish to serve. Organizations that have already benefited from receiving this training include homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters and community health centers.

VIRTUAL TRAININGS

Some of our trainings can be delivered in a live format using the Zoom social media platform. Due to the limits of adult attention spans using distance learning methods, our training offerings have been adapted for delivery in this format as a 2-hour program.

• LGBTQ+ Cultural Sensitivity – covers 101 material and creating an LGBTQ+ welcoming environment
• HIV/AIDS – covers basic HIV biology, treatment and prevention and current HIV resources
• LGBTQ+ Pride – covers LGBTQ history and rights

It is advised that the Zoom audience size for the LGBTQ+ cultural sensitivity program be set at no more than 20, given the need for ensuring personal attention be provided when dealing with sensitive material.

There would not need to be an audience size limit for the other two programs; however, to ensure personal attention could be provided to all attendees, maximum attendance should be set at 40.

HUDSON PRIDE CENTER & PARTNERS IN PREVENTION:

Hudson Pride Center is proud to partner with Partners In Prevention, under the New Jersey Statewide Student Support Services initiative (NJ4S)! This is a groundbreaking initiative dedicated to enhancing student’s well-being and academic growth across New Jersey. The mission is to address today’s pressing mental wellness challenges among youth. Hudson Pride Center’s role in this initiative starts with advocating for LGBTQ+ specific students’ needs in schools all over Hudson County. Our Health Educators provide training and support to school staff, giving them essential tools to foster an LGBTQ+ inclusive climate. Through Hudson Pride’s in school training, teachers and administrators will be equipped to transform their classrooms and schools into an affirming environment where LGBTQ+ students can flourish without experiencing bullying, violence, discrimination, homophobia, or transphobia.

Hudson Pride’s Health Educators will also provide leadership development support to youth in schools to create (or enhance) LGBTQ+ inclusive student groups that can serve as a platform where peers can meet, socialize, and obtain needed resources to address their barriers.

LEARN MORE

Please note that there are fees specific to the delivery of our various trainings. For information about our fees, please contact our Executive Director, Elizabeth Schedl (she/they) at elizabeth@hudsonpride.org or 201-963-4779 ext. 1110.

To schedule a training or discuss educational content in further detail, please contact our Clinical Director, David Rosen, DBH, LCSW (he/him) at drosen@hudsonpride.org or 201-963-4779 ext. 1119. With sufficient advance notice, he may be able to secure Continuing Education credits in Social Work for some programs – please discuss such needs with him as soon into the process as possible so he can look into the associated fees and turn-around time to determine if CE can be secured for your program.