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.

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 ;)