Homeless youth seek refuge in specially-designed shelters

All across the United States, homeless teenagers seek refuge in youth shelters where they can tend to become targets of violence and discrimination; these same teens may be physically assaulted by fellow shelter residents and even harassed by the staff.

The reason why these homeless teenagers tend to become targets is because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, between 575,000 to 1.6 million youth become homeless every year and 20 to 40 percent identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

Youth shelters generally aren’t sensitive to the needs and situations of LGBT youth, however, there are a few organizations across the country that do provide shelter and services exclusively for this population of homeless youth.

The Ali Forney Center and Metropolitan Community Church of New York Homeless Youth Services in New York and the Chris Kids Rainbow Project in Georgia are just a few of the non-profit organizations dedicated to assisting LGBT homeless youth.

As the population of homeless youth grows, so does the need for these types of organizations.

“LGBT youth have special needs that their heterosexual peers don’t have,” said Director of Communications and Special Events of the Ali Forney Center, Wil Fisher. “Agencies like ours know how to meet those needs.”

The Ali Forney Center shelters 58 youth per night; homeless youth can stay for up to two years in the emergency shelter and can then move to transitional housing where they can stay for an additional two years if needed.

The Ali Forney Center also provides vocational training and a GED program to assist homeless youth with obtaining an education and the skills necessary to get back on their feet so that they may lead successful lives once they leave the center.

These shelters tend to provide a much needed safe haven for teens that have been rejected by their families or have decided to run away from an unsafe situation at home.

The Homeless Youth Resource Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, is another organization that is sensitive to the LGBT group of youth; LGBT youth account for one-third of the homeless youth population in Salt Lake City.

The Homeless Youth Resource Center provides the basic needs for survival on the streets such as food, clothing, sleeping bags, medical treatment, and even something as simple as a hot shower.

“This is a place [for youth] to come where they are safe and off the streets,” said Program Director of the Homeless Youth Resource Center and Street Outreach, Angie Colemere.

Case management is also provided at the Homeless Youth Resource Center, where teens can receive assistance with jobs, social security, and mental health issues.

The Huckleberry House in Columbus, Ohio it is not an uncommon place to see LGBT youth walking through their doors. Crisis Intervention Specialist, Meredith Bardus, doesn’t see many teens that have been kicked out solely for their sexual orientation because sometimes they are too young to realize they are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

“The majority [of these kids] don’t know they are gay,” said Bardus. “Many have had discipline problems at home or have been skipping school, so they are brought here.”