The audio course is accessible via the BetterMe: Mental Health app, available via iOS or Android
BY ELEANOR NOYCE, IMAGE BY BETTERME/UKRAINEPRIDE
To coincide with Pride Month, BetterMe and UKRAINEPRIDE have collaborated to launch an online audio course entitled LGBTQ+Me: Embracing Our Differences. Uniting people across different backgrounds, lifestyles and mindsets, the project aims to help people to better understand one another. Collecting personal stories from LGBTQI people and straight people across Ukraine, the project will share advice from a mental health counsellor.
Studies find that LGBTQI people are disproportionately impacted by depression, with 95% of respondents to one survey reporting trouble sleeping at night, 77% reporting feeling depressed and 71% of LGBTQI youth reporting feeling sad or hopeless.
In 2022, a report conducted by the Nash Svit Centre under the USAID/ENGAGE activity found that the issue of equality and protection of LGBTQI rights in Ukraine has become increasingly important with regards to both domestic and foreign policy. In the last 30 years, attitudes towards LGBTQI rights in Ukraine have improved, transforming from total intolerance to a non-discriminatory tendency.
Interested? Some topics covered include self-identification, coming out, discrimination and bullying, LGBTQI people and military service, LGBTQI stereotypes and how to talk to kids about gender. Overall, the project aims to help people with different gender identities and sexual orientations to find common ground, understanding one another on a more profound level.
“People of the LGBTQI community often face discrimination and a lack of understanding from society. To change that we’re so happy to partner with BetterMe for the course that educates on how to treat LGBTQI as well as shares their unique stories that help us understand them more. This way we hope to make the lives of our community and loved ones better!”, said Yuriy Dvizhon, co-founder of UKRAINEPRIDE NGO.
To access the course, download the BetterMe: Mental Health app available on both iOS and Android. BetterMe is a leading Ukraine-based behavioural healthcare company taking care of the physical and mental health of 100M users worldwide. UKRAINEPRIDE NGO is a propatriotic queer movement, that aimed to defend and nurture Ukrainian cultural identity and share it with counterparts from different countries, ethnicities, or religions.
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