LGBTQ+ Youth Encounter Alarming Disparity in Homelessness Rates

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LGBTQ+ youth are significantly more likely than their cisgender-heterosexual peers to experience homelessness at some point in their lifetime. Some queer youth may leave home or be kicked out due to their parents’ reaction to them coming out. Most LGBTQ+ youth, however, become homeless due, not to the immediate aftermath of coming out, but to fraying familial relationships over time. Because of these declining relationships, when they face financial hardships in their young adulthood, they can’t count on their family to support them. Many queer youth and young adults experiencing homelessness have been in the foster care system at some point where they experienced unsafe and non-affirming atmospheres due to their queerness.

 

(Photo by Brett Sayles)

LGBTQ+ Youth Face Disproportionate Homelessness Rates Compared to Cisgender-Heterosexual Peers

  • 4.2 million minors experience homelessness each year. 700,000 of them are unaccompanied by family members.
  • Up to 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+
  • 40%-80% of homeless LGBTQ+ youth experiences suicidal ideation in the last year
  • 23%-67% of homeless LGBTQ+ youth have made at least one suicide attempt
  • Youth who are black and LGBTQ+ reported the highest rates of homelessness (16%)
  • 8.8%  of LGBTQ+ youth who had experienced homelessness reported leaving home due to mistreatment or fear of mistreatment due to LGBTQ+ identity
  • 14% of LGBTQ+ youth who had experienced homelessness reported being kicked out
  • 5.6% of LGBTQ+ youth who had experienced homelessness reported being kicked out due to their LGBTQ+ identity
  • Most LGBTQ+ youth become homeless due to familial instability and frying relationships over time
  • Youth may be less willing to receive help from a system (shelter, foster care) depending on if they feel the space is safe and affirming for their LGBTQ+ identity. Homophobia and service workers’ lack of queer cultural competence prevent adults from being able to recognize discrimination against LGBTQ+ youth.

(Report Created by Macey Gwynn)

Actions to support LGBTQ+ youth and young adults should include:

  • Improving LGBTQ+ cultural competency at shelters and in the foster care system
  • Creating more programs for children aging out of foster care systems
  • Facilitate strong anti-discrimination and anti-bullying programs in schools
  • Creating school programs to support LGBTQ+ youth and help them stay connected to trustworthy adults
  • Increase funds for low-barrier housing programs

To address this issue, various organizations and initiatives work to provide support, resources, and safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness. These efforts aim to combat the root causes of LGBTQ+ youth homelessness and offer them the necessary assistance and opportunities for stable housing.

(Report Created by Macey Gwynn)

To learn more about the issue of LGBTQ youth homelessness, please click the following link to download the full report: LGBTQ+ Individuals Experiencing Homelessness

 

About the Author:

Macey Gwynn (she/her)
Macey is a summer intern for the Bring America Home NOW Campaign. She’s a sociology major at BYU in Provo, UT and is involved with queer organizations on and off campus. She’s passionate about non-profit work and advocating for policy that builds better infrastructure and support for individuals.

 

On January 27, 2015, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) to expand programs for vulnerable youth who are homeless and on their own. The National Coalition for the Homeless strongly endorses this legislation.

This bill would reauthorize and expand the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, a law that expired in the last Congress. The new bill, titled the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act (RHYTPA), will continue programs for unaccompanied homeless youth with increased funding for services such as transitional housing and street outreach. Expansion of RHYTPA also ensures LGBTQ youth are granted access to services free of discrimination. It also expands support for survivors of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

The National Coalition applauds the work of Senators Collins, Leahy, Ayotte, and Booker on this important piece of legislation. We urge Congress to pass this legislation without delay.

YouthHomelessness

 

There are nearly half a million unaccompanied young people in this country who experience homelessness each year. They are on their own, without parental or institutional support, trying to navigate a complicated system at a time in their lives when everything is already uncertain and often difficult.

Stability is fundamental for proper mental and physical development and for the chance to receive a decent education. We cannot abide the current youth homelessness crisis. We, at NCH, are spearheading the National Campaign for Youth Shelter, along with the Ali Forney Center in NYC, to demand that every young person in America has access to safe shelter.

You can do your part by joining the National Campaign for Youth Shelter and fighting for homeless youths in your community!

Why you should think about youth homelessness this Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week by Deirdre Walsh, NCH Intern

Youth homelessness is this year’s central theme for Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. While the issues associated with living in poverty are difficult for all, homeless youths encounter unique obstacles when trying to secure housing, employment, health care, and emergency services. Discrimination and a lack of opportunities put American youths at great risk to be on the streets without access to shelter, appropriate resources, and protection. The National Campaign for Youth Shelter seeks to provide all young people, ages 24 and under with immediate access to safe shelter, affirming the principles that no young person in the United States should be left homeless in the streets. This commitment calls attention to the causes of youth homelessness and its troublesome existence in the United States today.

Each year, as many as 500,000 unaccompanied youths experience homelessness. Many homeless young people have fled abusive homes, left or aged out the foster care system without resources, or been rejected by their families because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Increased discrimination against the homeless youth population is leading thousands to life on the street and the need is greater than ever for shelter beds and resources. The National Campaign for Youth Shelter calls for an immediate commitment of 22,000 shelter beds and services to match the impending influx of youths requesting services. The campaign also calls for a more accurate and comprehensive effort to count the number of homeless youth in the nation in order to determine the number of beds that are needed over the next decade. It is only through understanding the ongoing issue and realities of homeless youth that their needs can be address.

Schools and community groups can support this campaign. When planning events for this year’s H&H Week, event organizers can shine an important light on vulnerable youth populations. NCH is encouraging groups to take actions that will be matched around the country to start a movement that will keep fighting long after Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Find your local shelter that provides resources specifically to homeless youth and see what they need or what resources they lack. Advocate on the behalf of discriminated LGBTQ youths to your local, state, and federal officials. Help your community know what resources are needed and raise funds and materials for your local shelter. Our society cannot sustain the lack of resources for homeless youth. There is only 1 bed available for every 125 homeless youth. Awareness and advocacy this Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week can help to increase the number of youth shelter beds increase and decrease the number of homeless youth on the streets.

Download the Planning Guide for advice on organizing youth-focused awareness events.

40 Years of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act by Frank McAlpin, Guest Blogger

This week marks the 40th anniversary of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA), which has provided funding for services to youth experiencing homelessness across the nation. And 40 years after the initial legislation, the services that RHYA funds are needed now more than ever.

Youth become homeless for a number of reasons including: family violence and neglect, rejection due to sexual orientation or gender identity, the overwhelmed child welfare system and extreme poverty. These youth almost always have experienced unimaginable abuse and trauma, in their homes, their communities, and on the street. It is the RHYA-funded services and programs that help to rectify the deep injustices that homeless youth experience on a daily basis.

RHYA specifically funds three different programs for homeless youth: street outreach, which aims to transition youth off the streets; basic centers, which provides youth temporary shelter and services; and transitional living programs, which provides longer term housing and support to youth 16-21 years of age. In July of this year new federal legislation was introduced in Congress, the Runaway and Homeless Youth Trafficking and Prevention Act.

This new legislation would reauthorize the original RHYA and strengthen the law to better serve homeless youth today. The new law adds a nondiscrimination clause, which would ensure that all youth seeking services, including LGBTQ youth are treated fairly and with dignity by agencies receiving federal funding. This clause directly reflects the current homeless youth population, with almost 40 percent of homeless youth identifying as LGBTQ. In addition, the new law would require culturally competent and comprehensive care and services for all homeless youth, including LGBTQ youth and youth who have been survivors of human trafficking, violence and exploitation.

Over the past 40 years, there is no question that millions of youth have been impacted by RHYA. This one piece of legislation has been the cornerstone of homeless youth services for decades and has literally been a lifeline for an untold amount of youth experiencing homelessness. As a social worker working with homeless youth I have seen first hand the extraordinary work of the RHYA funded programs.

In working with youth experiencing homelessness, I have been witness to the beautiful transformation that happens when youth are transitioned off the street and into supportive housing programs. Programs in which youth can heal from trauma, learn basic life skills, obtain a job, pursue their education, repair relationships with their family and begin to fulfill their deepest passions. In short, RHYA and the agencies that receive the funding seek to restore dignity to youth experiencing homelessness. It aims to provide youth with the support and care necessary for them not just to survive but thrive.

The passage of the updated RHYA, Runaway and Homeless Youth Trafficking and Prevention Act by Congress is imperative for youth experiencing homelessness.  There is no better way to honor the 40th anniversary of RHYA and the over one million homeless youth today, then for the passage the Runaway and Homeless Youth Trafficking and Prevention Act. It ensures that homeless youth’s beauty, strength and potential are elevated and that they will be able to move out homelessness and fulfill their dreams.

 Frank McAlpin, social worker based in Hollywood

@frankmctalk

The Real Meaning of PRIDE by Frank McAlpin

Homeless Youth are OUR Youth
 
As we, in Los Angeles prepare for one of the largest and most spectacular Gay Pride Parades in the nation there is much to be proud of. We are experiencing unprecedented progress in the LGBT rights movement. From the legalization of same-sex marriage across the country, to the acceptance of openly gay professional athletes, to greater visibility and inclusion of LGBT folks in media and politics. Yes, there is much to celebrate! 
 
Yet with all this GAY excitement and celebration we can’t overlook the hundreds of young people sleeping on the streets of Los Angeles every night. It is estimated that in the US a half a million youth are homeless, about 40 percent of these youth identify as LGBTQ. And it is believed that Los Angeles is home to the most young people in country experiencing homelessness. 
 
There are numerous reasons as to why youth become homeless such as: abuse, neglect, poverty and homophobia. Often times LGBTQ youth are not physically or emotionally safe in their homes and communities, due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. They leave home in search of a more affirming and supportive space to be who they are. 
 
For whatever reason youth become homeless, their daily reality is almost impossible to imagine. It is a reality of constant hunger and exhaustion. Of violence and exploitation. Of rejection and stigma. For many homeless youth each day is just about survival. The realities that homeless youth experience 
impact every facet of their life, including employment prospects, education and physical and mental health. 
 
When trying to imagine these realities I can’t help but think, what kind of community allows young people, some already marginalized because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression to be homeless? To have no safe and supportive space to live and grow into the beautiful individuals they are? 
 
Our collective acceptance of youth homelessness in OUR community is not something we can be proud of. It is an injustice so horrific it diminishes our entire community. And its existence overshadows the very equality the LGBT rights movement is achieving today. 
 
These homeless youth, many of whom identify as LGBTQ, are our youth. We, as an LGBT community and more broadly as a nation, must care for these youth. We must recognize them. Talk with them. Fight for them. For these young people represent all that is beautiful and possible in our community. They are our 
future. 
 
Youth experiencing homelessness, LGBT or not, want the same things we all want. To be safe, respected, supported and loved. And isn’t that what Pride is really all about? 
 
So as we gather in West Hollywood this June to throw glitter and celebrate our Pride, let us also commit to ending youth homelessness. Let us ensure that all homeless youth feel safe, respected, supported and loved. And that we all come to know the true meaning of PRIDE. 
 
Frank McAlpin, social worker and homeless youth advocate 
@FrankMcTalk

National Campaign for Youth Shelter

NCH is proud to work with the Ali Forney Center to launch the National Campaign for Youth Shelter, a collaboration that will build a grassroots campaign to demand a national response to youth homelessness.

 The National Campaign for Youth Shelter calls include the following:

  1. A federal commitment to provide all youths age 24 and under with immediate access to safe shelter, affirming the principle that no young person in the United States should be left homeless in the streets.
  2. An immediate commitment to add 22,000 beds with appropriate services. (This number corresponds to the number of youths identified in the most recent Point In Time Count of homeless persons conducted by the federal government).
  3. A more accurate and comprehensive effort to count the number of homeless youth in the nation in order to determine the number of beds that are needed over the next decade.

The campaign is going to hold rallies in New York City and Washington, DC, to launch the campaign as a priority within the LGBT movement. The New York City rally will be held on June 2. Details to come.

LGBT youth are disproportionately over-represented in the homeless youth population, with as many as 40% of the nation’s homeless youth being LGBT, while only 5% of the overall youth population is LGBT.

Currently, there are only approximately 4,000 youth shelter beds in the United States, yet as many as 500,000 unaccompanied youths experience homelessness each year.

“It’s indefensible that our nation would abide hundreds of thousands of young people to be homeless and on their own,” says Jerry Jones, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. “The National Campaign for Youth Shelter will highlight the urgency of basic emergency shelter as we work toward permanent solutions to this crisis.”

The National Campaign for Youth Shelter has gained the support and endorsement of over 30 organizations, including: GLAAD, the Alliance for a Just Society, Campaign for America’s Future, Campus Pride, Center for Community Change, Center for Popular Democracy, CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers, Coalition on Human Needs, Covenant House, Empire State Pride Agenda, Family Acceptance Project, Family Equality Council, Garden State Equality, Gay Men’s Health Crisis, GLSEN, the Hetrick Martin Institute, Housing Assistance Council, It Gets Better Project, Matthew Shepard Foundation, National AIDS Housing Coalition, National Black Justice Coalition, National Domestic Workers Alliance, National Health Care for the Homeless Council, National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, National Low Income Housing Coalition, NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, Partnership for Working Families, Rebuild the Dream, the Ruth Ellis Center, Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, Treatment Action Group, USAction, and You Can Play Project.

“It is unprecedented to have so many LGBT organizations join together with prominent national housing and anti-poverty organizations to fight for the humane treatment of impoverished youths.” says Carl Siciliano, executive director of the Ali Forney Center. “With all this support, the National Campaign for Youth Shelter will build a movement to finally prevent youths from being left to suffer homelessness without access to shelter. The wealthiest nation on earth must not allow its youths to be left out in the streets.”

Tweet: The National Campaign for Youth Shelter is fighting for every young person to have access to safe shelter. http://ctt.ec/58RG8+