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Each day, thousands of youth experience bullying and as many of 70% of all youth report having experienced bullying, either directly or indirectly (Cantor, 2005). For Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth, the chances of experiencing bullying are much higher than for youth in the general population (Russell, Horn, Kosciw, & Saewyc, 2010). Although many youth serving organizations have begun to address the issue of bullying with bullying prevention programs, there is a deficit of information and a lack of inclusion of prevention efforts that specifically address LGBTQ youth. This article address the role of youth organizations in creating safe and inclusive environments for all youth, with specific attention paid to resources and strategies for inclusive environments for LGBTQ youth.

Bullying is a major issue facing youth of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life. In fact, 30% of youth report experiencing bullying on a monthly basis (Nansel, Overpeck, Pilla, Ruan, Simons-Murton & Scheidt, 2001). As a consequence, these youth are at much greater risk for a host of mental and physical problems (Ttofi & Farrington, 2008). Parents, teachers, educators and youth advocates all agree that this issue merits time and attention, yet many professionals are at a loss for understanding the issue or what resources might be most effective with their young audience. With the increased rates of bullying behaviors and growing research about effective prevention and intervention strategies, youth development professionals need guidance for creating and sustaining bully prevention efforts. The purpose of this article is to highlight the growing research on bully prevention and provide information for practitioners working to create safe and inclusive environments for youth.