Drop in Family is a six-week program hosted by headspace Kalgoorlie to provide information and support to people with LGBTQI youth in their lives.

Having a child who is LGBTQI can feel isolating for parents, according to TransFolk of WA Goldfields administrator Emerson Vanderdonk.

“Parents often have lots of questions about what being LGBTQI means for their child such as will they have grandchildren. What is the process for gender transition? How can they help with bullying?” he said.

“LGBTQI young people are often going through tough times working out who they are, dealing with bullying, discrimination and other issues and one of the most helpful things for young people is having supportive parents.

This group aims to give parents some ideas and help in how they can be supportive of their young people.”

Headspace Kalgoorlie manager Ashley Cridland said they wanted to do more parent and family care work given the huge demand for this type of support.

“We’re always here to support youth but to be able to help them we need to be able to work with their families as well,” she said.

“You can’t just look at the youth in isolation to help them, it’s everything around them that needs to be included in helping them.”

The program, funded by Anglicare’s Parenting Connections WA, will start on February 20.

The sessions will be at the headspace building on Brookman Street and will cover terminology, support strategies, hormone replacement therapy and mental health resources.

For more information, phone headspace Kalgoorlie on 9021 5599.