LGBT Teen Homelessness is an Epidemic

I have touched on this topic before and to me it is so very, very sad that LGBT teens continue to find themselves homeless often because their allegedly pious, religious parents, be they Christian or some other faith, toss their own children away as if they are garbage simply because God created them differently that the majority. This topic is dear to the heart of my blogger friend Justin from the west coast and just the other night we talked about how wonderful it would be if we had the means to set up a home for homeless gay teens. As a parent, it is beyond my comprehension how a parent can discard their child, particularly in the name of a supposedly loving God. It is these parent, not their LGBT children, who are the ones God will punish. Here are highlights from a 365gay.com article that details the problem:

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As National Coming Out Day approaches, I find myself wondering if the LGBT community is failing too many of the teens who come out. When a teen comes out, and their parents are able to accept them, it is a wonderful thing. However, recent studies have shown that as many as 25 percent of teens face rejection by their parents and families when they come out. Our nation’s homeless youth population is swollen with LGBT youth who have been thrown to the streets as a punishment for their honesty and integrity in coming out.

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In last year’s report “An Epidemic of Homelessness,” the Task Force cited studies showing that up to 40 percent of all the homeless youth in the United States are LGBT. It is upsetting and disturbing to hear the stories kids tell us when they seek help from the Ali Forney Center. We hear of kids being battered and beaten by their parents and family members. We hear of kids being told that they are damned and unloved by God by their religious leaders.

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A common theme I hear in the stories our kids tell us is how, in the eyes of their families and communities, their being LGBT cancels out their human value. They become no longer worthy of love and protection in the eyes of their parents. This is where the broader LGBT community must come to the table. We need to show our kids that they are loved and cherished for who they are. We have an obligation to our youth to create and support structures that protect queer youth when their parents refuse to do so.

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In every city we need to be advocating that youth shelters be safe for LGBT youth, and that distinct programs be created and funded to meet the needs of LGBT youth. Paying closer attention to the needs of our kids needs to be a higher priority for us as a community on local and national levels.

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There are only a small handful of programs in our country dedicated to housing LGBT youth - there are tens of thousands of LGBT youth enduring the terrors and humiliations of homelessness on our streets. The protection and safety of our youth must become a central priority of our community. We need to show these kids, and ourselves, that they are valued. When a kid is thrown to the streets for being gay, it is an assault against each one of us.