Bex Pink, youth worker and National Digital Innovation Lead at NYA, shares her reflections on the importance of LGBTQ+ History Month, and the positive impact youth workers have on identity, belonging and young people’s wellbeing.
Through lived experience, I know first-hand the importance of providing safe spaces for young people, giving them the room to explore their identity, find community and feel supported.
As a young person, I grew up at a time when conversations about identity were almost non‑existent. During the years of Section 28 (1988–2003), a law that prohibited schools and local authorities from promoting or talking acceptingly about LGBTQ+ identities, I had no role models, no language to describe what I was feeling, and no adults I could turn to for support and guidance. That silence stayed with me, and it shaped everything I did next.
My first full‑time youth work role in 2010 was with an LGBTQ+ youth service in London and was the beginning of a series of LGBTQ+ focused roles I held across the charity sector and in local authorities. From the start, my aim was simple: to create the kind of environment I never had growing up, a place where young people could just exist, without pressure, judgement or expectation, all whilst having fun with the support of a youth worker.
For me, youth work isn’t about putting young people into boxes or steering them towards certainty. It’s about helping them pick up those boxes, examine them, understand them, and take the time they need to work out who they are and what they want in life.
I remember doing just that when working with a young person whose sense of identity shifted week by week. In my time with them small moments mattered, like walking through different clothing sections of a shop together, talking about what felt right and helping them explore their feelings safely. Over time, I had the privilege of watching them grow into themselves with a quiet, grounded confidence, eventually leading to them speaking on stage at an event, sharing the journey we went on together. After years of self‑discovery, they finally found peace in who they are.
One year in a different role, I took a group of young people to attend and walk in the London Pride parade. Completely by chance, during the parade we bumped into Sir Ian McKellen, an icon in LGBTQ+ history but with all respect to him- the highlight of the day wasn’t meeting him. It was the young people. After working with them for so long, knowing their stories and struggles, seeing them cheered on by the crowds, validated and supported, and witnessing the impact that had on them, was by far one of the best moments of my entire career.
Youth work has given me so much back, personally as well as professionally. During my Masters in Youth and Community Work I learnt about oppression and it changed everything. Whilst making sure to create safe spaces for young people like me, I still carried the weight of guilt and shame around my sexuality, but my studies gave me the space to finally understand that those feelings were not my fault, and a result of years of oppression of the community I so deeply care about. In fact, it impacted me so much that when I married my wife, I found myself thanking youth work, my past employers and the NYA in my wedding speech. In that moment, it felt right to honour the journey that had brought me to that point and the impact that learning had on me.
LGBTQ+ History month means a lot of different things to different people, but for me it’s about recognising where we are, where we’ve come from and where we go next. It’s also personally an opportunity for me to look back and be proud of the person I’ve become, and the young people I’ve been able to support on their own journeys.
To support your development, the NYA Academy now offers a free intermediate CPD course, Working with LGBTQ+ Young People. Developed with The Brunswick Centre, it provides practical tools to create safer, more inclusive settings and deepen understanding of the experiences and needs of LGBTQ+ young people.
Book your space on the course: Working with LGBTQ+ Young People – National Youth Agency
