Supporting Members of the LGBTQ+ Community

Thursday, June 8th, 2023, Noon to 1:30 p.m.

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What can we do to create a safe and accepting community for our LGBTQ+ youth and young adults with mental health diagnoses?

Missy Peters, System of Care Coordinator/High Fidelity Wraparound Supervisor at Blair HealthChoices, will talk to us about the work she is doing in Blair County to pick up where Covid interrupted. Missy will talk to us about being a person who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community, her journey, her experiences, and her motivations to do the work she is doing.

Brittany Feaster, High Fidelity Wraparound Coach/Facilitator at Blair HealthChoices, will talk to us about being an ally to Missy, to her community, and her commitment to being an ally.

Bella Davis, Brittany's teenage daughter, will talk to us about being a teenager in today's world and how teens are more accepting and inclusive of all people.

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Our Speakers

Missy Peters

Missy Peters is a System of Care Coordinator/High Fidelity Wraparound Supervisor at Blair HealthChoices. She received her Master's in Counseling from Capella University.

As the System of Care Coordinator, Missy works across different sectors and levels to transform how we deliver care and support to youth and young adults in our community. Through this work, it was identified that there was a need for providing training and education on how to support best the LGBTQ+ youth and young adults in our county. We provided basic LGBTQ+ 101 training, then offered additional training to those who wanted to be "champions of the cause."

We implemented a training style called Cafe Conversations, held three sessions, and have now developed our Blair County Inclusion Alliance. The Alliance is comprised of individuals from various service agencies, such as our local Headstart, case management agencies, Teen Shelter, Child Advocacy Center, and other therapeutic providers. This group focuses on Advocacy, Education, and Outreach, hoping to start a local PFLAG chapter in Blair County, bring back our local Pride Parade, and work within the education system to learn policies and help implement some changes.

Missy has been a part of the LGBTQ+ community for over 20 years and is excited by our progress and hopeful for the future. She is very invested and passionate and relies heavily on her allies to help her. Together, we can make a positive change!

Brittany Feaster

Brittany Feaster is a High Fidelity Wraparound Coach/Facilitator at Blair HealthChoices. She has a BS from Penn State in Human Development and Family Studies.

High Fidelity Wraparound is a team-based planning process that works with at-risk youth and their families to address their complex emotional and behavioral needs. Brittany was drawn to this role after working in child welfare and case management because it provides a framework to help encourage youth and families to have a voice and be at the forefront of their needs.

Brittany has always been passionate about ensuring that people marginalized by society have access to equal opportunities. I remain curious and humbled by learning with and about others through my work in the field with families, and I am always seeking information to understand others better. She works toward creating and being a safe space for others and being nonjudgmental in her professional and personal life.

Bella Davis

Bella Davis, the daughter of Brittany Feaster, graduated from high school this year. Her graduating class had over 1,000 students. Diversity has been a natural part of school life and her generation.

Differences are not always an easy topic to encourage and support in such a large group of students. Therefore, it takes effort on both the part of the student body as well as the school to create an inclusive environment for every youth and young adult.

However, as a person raised to accept everyone for who they are, Bella has embraced the DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) movement with other students in her generation, hoping for a better, equal future for us all.