Homeless Youth Pride Walk 2009

In May, 2009, Jill Hardman, Nicole Tomlin, and Chloe Michelle Noble are walking across the United States to raise awareness for LGBTQ homeless youth in America. They will set out on foot from Seattle, Washington, traveling 6000 miles (3000 of it on foot) across the United States in over 6 months. Most of their journey will be homeless, which will give them a unique opportunity to document the lives of homeless youth all over the United States.

Support their efforts and follow their journey at PRIDE WALK 2009.

Diversity Lesson 101: Homeless Sexual Minorities

Homelessness is a major problem in the queer community as evidenced by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's report "An Epidemic of Homelessness". A staggering 42% of homeless youth nationwide identify as LGBTQ. One in five transgender people are homeless and in need of services or are at risk. A disproportionate amount of queer homeless individuals are also people of color.

Why are queer people at a higher risk for homelessness?
LGBTQ people especially youth are often dependent on their parents/guardians to take care of them emotionally, and financially. Most the LGBTQ youth who are homeless are runaways or were kicked out of their homes due to a lack of acceptance of their sexual or gender identity. Transgender people are at a higher risk for homelessness due to lack of societal acceptance, lack of aide in transition, and trans people often face serious challenges finding employment. Older gay people are also at risk due to lack of government recognition of their partnerships. There are countless tragic stories of people who were dependent on a partner, and after the passing of the partner had no right to inheritance, losing their home and belongings.

Challenges faced by LGBTQ homeless people:
In addition to the regular societal ill treatment of homeless folks, LGBTQ people in particular face harassment, and violence on the streets and in shelters, from homeless and non-homeless people alike. They also suffer lack of access to food and shelter, from mental health issues, substance abuse, and risky sexual behavior which leads to higher rates of HIV/AIDS amongst gay and bisexual homeless men.

Getting by as a queer person on the streets:
Many queer people who are homeless are forced into prostitution with no other means of attaining their daily necessities. Due to crack downs on sex workers and homeless populations in general, a significant amount of queer people end up in jail. Lesbian and bisexual girls are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system and are forced to cohabitate with homophobic prisoners. Gay male youth are taunted by inmates and prison guards and have no place to turn to for support, often suffering from violence, harassment, and rape. Because of the dangerous conditions in the shelters, many LGBTQ people prefer the streets and sleeping in trains.

What's being done to help homeless sexual minorities?
Sadly, not much is being done on the state or federal level to specifically address the issue. Some LGBTQ organizations have stepped in to do more research and provide shelters for queer homeless youth. There are also 24 hour suicide prevention hot lines and an LGBTQ runaway switchboard providing local resources. There is also a growing trend of LGBTQ individuals who are adopting queer youth who were forced onto the streets or the foster care system.









Resources for homeless, at risk queer people, and those who want to learn more and help:

Call or email the GLBT National Help Center

Listing of National & International LGBTQ Homeless Shelters

Search GLBT Near Me under the topic crisis in your location.

For young people in foster care who have questions about LGBT-related discrimination or abuse, a service of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, 866-LGBTeen (542-8336) (Pacific Standard Time) Monday-Friday, 6:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Free, downloadable brochure with statistics, information and resources for your clinic or counseling waiting room or the literature rack in your classroom or library. http://www.1800runaway.org/pub_mat/documents/LGBTQ.pdf

Best Practices for LGBT Homeless Youth

Transitioning Our Shelters - A Guide to Making Homeless Shelters Safe for Transgender People

New Study Shows LGBT Population Suffers Higher Rates of Poverty

The Williams Institute of UCLA has released a new report that undertakes the first analysis of the poor and low-income lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population. They find clear evidence that poverty is at least as common in the LGBT population as among heterosexual people and their families. This ground breaking study shatters a common stereotype that all gays and lesbians are affluent.

The report discusses various possible reasons for the economic disparity, ie: employment discrimination, lack of access to marriage, higher rates of uninsured, and less financial support from family members.

Main Findings:

• After adjusting for a range of family characteristics that help explain poverty, gay and lesbian couple families are significantly more likely to be poor than are heterosexual married couple families.

• Notably, lesbian couples and their families are much more likely to be poor than heterosexual couples and their families.

• Children in gay and lesbian couple households have poverty rates twice those of children in heterosexual married couple households.

• Within the LGB population, several groups are much more likely to be poor than others. African American people in same-sex couples and same-sex couples who live in rural areas are much more likely to be poor than white or urban same-sex couples.

• While a small percentage of all families receive government cash supports intended for poor and low-income families, we find that gay and lesbian individuals and couples are more likely to receive these supports than are heterosexuals.

Resources/Tips for helping out underprivileged queers:

Donate to Queers for Economic Justice or a local LGBT homeless shelter.

"Clothes are for closets" - donate some old clothes, or sheets, to an LGBT homeless center.

Donate some canned goods and products to a Queer community center that serves underprivileged LGBT people.

National Food Drive For Equality!

Natl Food Drive for Equality - In the spirit of the holiday season, let's set aside our own struggles and needs, to demonstrate to the nation and the world the collective power of the LGBTQ community to be a force of betterment for all society.

Beginning on November 28th, 2008 and going until we Light Up the Night for Equal Rights on December 20th, Join The Impact is launching the first national LGBTQ Food Drive for Equality!

Through this event, we will work to reach out not only to those who have worked alongside us, but to organizations and individuals that fear us and oppose our cause by donating to faith based food pantries.

Our efforts to alleviate the hunger America is facing in this difficult time will be indiscriminate with regards to creed or political philosophy. These are gaps we can and must bridge if we are going to achieve equality in this country.

Visit the link for more information or to get involved with the National Food Drive For Equality.

NYC Restores Funds to Ali Forney Center

UPDATE: "Officials have restored funding for a drop-in center for homeless gay youth, a high-risk group for contracting HIV" (LGBT Youth News).

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11/5/08 - The Ali Forney Center is an LGBT homeless youth shelter that operates in New York City. Due to the current financial crisis in the economy, the local government has cut funding which is now threatening the existence of the project. The $600,000 the center receives annually in assistance is their only source of income.

Please call on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to restore funding to the Ali Forney Center by clicking here and copying and pasting the following text into the contact box provided on the form.

Dear Mayor Bloomberg:

I am writing this to request your assistance in preventing the defunding of the Ali Forney Center's drop-in services to homeless LGBT youth. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has announced that in 2009 it will cease allocating HOPWA funds to the drop-in services of the Ali Forney Center, resulting in the defunding of New York City's only full time drop-in center for homeless LGBT youth. The closure of this program would create a terrible service gap for homeless LGBT youths and would put their lives at risk.

Of particular concern is the loss of HIV prevention, testing and treatment that would result from the center's closure. As recent studies have indicated that HIV is spreading most rapidly in Black and Latino men who have sex with men under the age of 30, the loss of the comprehensive and innovative HIV services at AFC's drop-in center would be catastrophic.

Please see to it that the HOPWA funds are restored, or that new funding is put in place to ensure the continuation of these invaluable services to the homeless LGBT youth of our City.

Please visit the Ali Forney Center website to donate any money, or to donate items such as food, clothing, and other items which may be useful to the center.

Blog Action Day: Queer Poverty

Today is Blog Action Day and the topic is poverty. There isnt much talk about poverty and economic crisis in the LGBT community. There exists many people who suffer with terrible financial problems and many youth who are left homeless. Discimination and lack of opportunity because of sexual orientation and gender identity is unacceptable.

So in honor of the day and the topic at hand I'd like to highlight an organization doing great work in this arena. Queers for Economic Justice. Find out how you can get involved in promoting economic justice.

Tips for helping out underprivileged queers:

1. Donate to Queers for Economic Justice or a local LGBT homeless shelter.

2. "Clothes are for closets" - donate some old clothes, or sheets, to an LGBT homeless center.

3. Donate some canned goods and products to a Queer community center that serves underprivileged LGBT people.

Support any and all efforts to make a change for LGBT people who are economically challenged.


Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

I encourage my fellow bloggers to join in Blog Action's Day effort to discuss the global poverty crisis. Of course I couldn't help but put a queer spin on it ;)