Over the course of a four-day workshop organized by the Y.O.U.T.H Training Project of San Francisco State's Bay Area Academy and NCLR and which took place at the Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkeley, California, ten former foster youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ) shared their stories and learned to edit them into moving, heartfelt (and sometimes heartbreaking) personal videos. Through these youths' thoughtful, honest, and insightful words and images, we hear directly about their experiences in state care, as well as their recommendations for better supporting LGBTQ youth in the future.

Breaking the Silence is a must-have tool for social workers, probation officers, group home workers, foster parents, system administrators, lawyers, youth advocates, and other service providers who work with LGBTQ youth.

In each three-minute standalone story, the youth share with us:

• What it was like for them to come out in the system
• How important it was for them to find supportive allies
• How they have come to understand their multiple identities
• The effects of rejection by family and foster parents
• The challenges of transitioning gender while in state custody
• What providers need to know about LGBTQ youth
• Why they are activists working for social change

In addition, each DVD comes with a bonus CD containing more than 25 useful and informative training tools and resources.

download all of the tools and resources included on the Breaking the Silence CD

To order your free copy of the Breaking the Silence DVD and Resource CD:

order onlinedownload mail order form (pdf)