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LOS ANGELES, Oct. 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- An exploration of the clinical, cultural, educational, organizational and research aspects of support necessary to empower members of the LGBTQ community composes the broad-based foundation of Penny Lane Centers' 8th Annual EDGY Conference.

Scheduled for Friday, November 18, 2016 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, "Evolution - Change Starts with YOU!" will address how non-LGBTQ people's views on LGBTQ issues fall across a broad spectrum: from those who are accepting and supportive across the board to those who are hostile and uncomfortable on most issues to those who are accepting on some topics while expressing reservations on others.

"Broadening acceptance of LGBTQ persons requires the help of allies – non-LGBTQ people who feel strongly that their LGBTQ friends and family must be fully accepted members of society," stated Cameron Glasgow, Penny Lane's Director of Training and Development "Through fuller comprehension of the challenges faced by the LGBTQ community, particularly its youth, along with education in best practices to support all LGBTQ persons, allies can be empowered to advocate for the LGBTQ community and help bridge the gap to full acceptance."

In addition to four dynamic keynote presentations - one tracking growth and acceptance of the LGBTQ community in society and three which highlight the very personal journeys of families embracing their gay and transgender children - the conference will offer two extensive breakout sessions to provide more in-depth examination of specific issues facing LGBTQ youth.

Breakout Session One workshops include:

• "Trans 201: How to be the therapist trans/non-binary individuals need"
• "Make Your Voice Count: Advocating in Mental Systems for LGBTQ+ Youth"
• "Visual Voices of LGBTQ Former Foster Youth in Los Angeles County"
• "Calling Out Lies, Calling in Allies"
• "'What my teachers didn't tell me': Practical Learning in working with LGBTQI Youth"
• "LGTBQ Youth of Color and Parenting Issues"
• "Relinquishing/Reclaiming: A Step by Step Gay and Questioning Adolescent Guidebook"

Breakout Session Two workshops include:

• "Become a First-Class Master LGBTQ Trainer for Your Organization"
• "Creating Safe and Welcoming Schools for LGBT Students and Families"
• "CSEC & GLBTQA* Youth: Forgotten within the Ignored"
• "Celebrating the Evolution of LGBT Parenting"
• "Transgender Youth, Caregivers, and Therapists: A Case Study of Change via the Use of Creative and Expressive Techniques"
• "LGBT-Affirmative Psychotherapy: Theory and Practice"
• "Coming Out for LGBT Teens: The Pain and the Process"

For additional conference information and registration, visit www.edgyconference.com.

Penny Lane Centers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1969 to serve abused teenage girls. Since that time, Penny Lane's programs and services have expanded to serve thousands of children, youth and families annually. Services include: Mentoring, Foster Care and Adoption, Transitional and Permanent Housing, Family Preservation, Wraparound, Residential Treatment Facilities, Therapeutic Behavioral Services and Mental Health Services. Penny Lane is proud to have received the "All Children, All Families" Seal from the Human Rights Campaign. For more information about Penny Lane Centers please visit www.pennylane.org. 

SOURCE Penny Lane Centers