KatherinePerezDeleon

ProfessorBatty
English113A
11December2015

DiscriminationandIgnoranceAgainst
LGBTQyouthhomelessness

TheLGBTQhomelessyouthcommunityintheUnitedStatesincreasesmoreandmore
everyyear.Thosewhomhaveidentifiedthemselvesashomosexualshavefacedparlous
obstaclesstartingfrombeingneglectedfromtheirowncommunitybutalsothederelictionof
theirfamiliesaswell.Itisacrucialtopictoreachoutformoregovernmentfundingstowards
homelesssheltersspecificallyfortheLGBTyouthanddecreasethenumberamountofyouth
homelessnessonourstreets.
Everyday,thousandsofadolescentsaregrowinguptryingtodiscoverthemselvesandtheir
sexuality.Ifthatisn'talreadyoverwhelmingenoughmanyadolescentsfindthemselvesbeing
gay,lesbian,bisexualortransexualandthousandsofusinourcountrystillcannotacceptthose
whoareLGBTQandmanyfromtheirownfamilymembers.Itisnoteasyforachildtoexpose
themselvestosocietyandannouncetheirsexuality.Manyadolescentsarebullied,discriminated,
lookeddownupon,harassedandbecauseofthismanysufferwithtraumaandcancausethemto
fallintosubstanceuse,sexualexploitationandsuicide.ManyofLGBTQadolescentshavea
higherpercentagerateofhavingfallingintothesethanheterosexualsdo.
Parentsandfamilymembersalsocontributetothenegativeimpacttheyaremakingon
theirLGBTQchild.ThosewhodonotcaretoacceptiftheirchildisLGBTQdecidetokickthem
outoftheirhomesatanearlyageandoncetheyarethrownontothestreets,manyhavenowhere
tolookhelpfor.Between240,000and400,000lesbian,gay,bisexualandtransgenderyouth
experienceatleastoneepisodeofhomelessnesseachyearintheUnitedStates.(Ream,pg.8)

ThiswasastudyconductedbytheNationalAllianceendtoHomelessnessandthesedatawas
recordedin2012.Itisobviousthatthesenumberskeepincreasingandwillnotstopunlessthe
governmentcreatesandfundsmorehomelesssheltersspecificallyfortheLGBTyouth
community.
Although,thegovernmenthaschildwelfaresuchasfostercaresystemsandprogramsto
helptheyouthitisneverenoughbecauseitdoesnthelptheLGBT.Whatthecommunitydoes
notrealizeisthateveninthosecaresystemsandprograms,theLGBTyoutharebeing
profoundlyvictimizedandarereceivingphysicalandsexualabuse.NearlyhalfoftheLGBTQ
youth(47percent)surveyedsaidtheydonotfitinintheircommunity(Shelton,pg.1)If
almosthalfoftheLGBTQyouthdoesnotfeelwelcomedintheirsociety,thereisamuchgreater
chancethattheywillfeelwelcomedinahomelessshelter.Thosewhoparticipateinthese
programsaretohavesaidtohavebeentreatedunequally,beendiscriminatedagainstbecauseof
theirstatusandinmanyarebeingkickedoutfromthesehomelesssheltersintothestreets.
Becauseofthistheybegintolivethestreetlifewhichcreatesamuchmoredifficultsituation
fortheyouth.Thesehomelesssheltersprovidethemtheexactoppositeofwhatthegovernment
isinsisting.Inaddition,manyclientsinthesegovernmentfundswereinterviewedandadmitted
sayingthatmostLGBTyoutharebulliedmainlybecausetheyareeasytargetsorbecausethose
clientsshowobvioussignsofhomophobia.Afterbeingshunnedfromtheirownfamiliesthe
LGBTyouthsearchforhelpandgetreceiveitbutafterbeingtargetedbyothersintheshelter,
theyarebeingthrownbackontothestreetsandthedarkwheretheyfirstbegan.
SincetheLGBTQyoutharebeingkickedoutfromtheirownhomesandfromhomeless
shelters,manyofthoseadolescentsbegintobecomesocialwithotherhomelesstoprovidea

formofsafetyforeachotherandsometimesattheexpenseoftheindividualswellbeing.The
firstthingthatcomestomindistofortheyouthtogetjobs,butitisnotaseasyassocietythinks.
ManyoftheLGBTyouthwholookforjobshavenotfinishedhighschool,donothavetheright
attireforaninterviewandmanydonotidentityidentificationbecauseithaseitherbeenstolen,
lostorisstillwithfamilymemberswhorefusetogiveittothem.Theseareproblemsthe
governmenttriestorefrainfromoccurringbutthereisn'tenoughfundingtowardshomeless
sheltersspecificallyfortheLGBTQyouth.Thoseadolescentswhodonothaveanytypeof
identificationonthemshouldbeabletogettheirownidentificationontheirown.Itisunfairfor
themtobequestionedbylawenforcementandhavenoidentificationbecausewithoutit,theyare
notabletomoveforward.
Althoughitistruethatthegovernmentprovidesveryfewsheltersandtransitionalliving
programs(TIP)instatessuchasNewYorkCitythatprovidecarefortheLGBTyouth
communitybutthespacesandbedsaresolimited.Inthisstate40%ofthehomelessareLGBT
andmostofthemarenotbeingprovidedcareintheseprograms.Mainly,becausethe
discriminationagainsttheseyouthareincreasingandthoseprogramsthattakeintheLGBTare
notsetuptosupportyouthforaslongastheyneedit.Injustonlyonecounttherewereonly
336bedscitywide.(Ream,pg.16)ThenumberofbedsintheTIPdoesnotevencoveraportion
oftheLGBThomelessyouthinthecity.Everyhomelessyouthdeservesabed,theyareall
childrenandthecountryshouldbegivingcareforalltypesofchildren.
Although,therearesomesheltersacrossthecountryfortheyouth,notallareforLGBTQ
andmanydonotknowthat.Thisisasilentproblemacrossthecountry.Ourpeoplearefocused
onmakingthecountryabetterplacebutoneofthefirstplacestheyneedtostartiswiththe

homelessyouth.Allyouth,notjustheterosexuals.LGBTyouthhaveahigherpercentagein
beingdiagnosedwithposttraumaticstressdisorder,suicidalthoughts,etc.thantheir
heterosexualpeers.Beinghomelessdoesnothelptheyouthwiththesedisordersingettingbetter.
Instead,itdoestheopposite.especiallylivinginthestreets.Howdoessocietyexpectforthe
youthtobetterthemselvesandgetajobiftheyarebeingturnedawayonlybecauseoftheir
status.ItisnearlyimpossiblefortheLGBThomelesstosurviveandlookforhelpifeverywhere
theygotheyarebeingterrorizedbyanyonewhodiscriminatestheLGBTQcommunity.
CreatingsheltersspecificallyfortheLGBTwillcreateabetterenvironmentforthem,they
willfeelwelcomedandwillfeelathome.Itwillcreatehomesforthoseinthe40percentwhoare
beinglookeddownuponeverydayandhavenoonetogotoornosheltertoaskforhelp.Not
onlydoesthisneedstobeenforcedbutalsoauthorityintheseprogramsthatstillexist,that
donotsupporttheLGBT.Authorityfromthegovernmentandmoregroundrulesthatwill
benefitalltheyouthnotjustaportion.Thisway,theLGBTyouthwillbeabletocomplete
programssuchastheTransitionallivingprogramswithoutbeingbullied,hated,discriminated,or
terrorized.Thereshouldbepartnershipscreatedsuchasuniversitiesorbusinesscorporationsin
ordertoprovidetheyouthwithpositivementors,mentalhealthcare,education,lifeskillsand
helpthemgetjobs.ThiswaytheLGBTyouthwillnotbecomehomelessadultsbutwillbecomes
adultswitheducation,hopes,dreamsandstrivetobecomesuccessful.Thecommunityneedsto
usetheirvoiceandstandupfortheseyouthbecauseinorderforourcountrytostriveandsustain
thepower,peaceandequalityitneedstobeginwiththeyouth.
Inconclusion,itisclearthatchildwelfareandgovernmentfundingisnotfairorsufficient
enoughtostopLGBTQyouthhomlessness.Thegovernmentdeclaresthatthereisenoughmoney

towardsthesesheltersbutinfactdoesnotmeettherequirementsthatthehomelessyouthneeds.
Unfortunately,childwelfareandthefostercaresystemisintendedbythegovernmenttoprovide
ahavenfortheyouthnotonlyforheterosexualsbutfortheLGBTaswell.Butinmanycasesit
canbeasystemthat

replicatestheconditionstheyouthneedtobespared.Inordertostop

victimizingtheLGBT
youth,thereneedstobemoreauthorityintothesesheltersandmorefundingintohomeless
sheltersspecificallyfortheLGBTyouth.Thisway,thegovernmentwillbeabletosucceedinto
becomingamoreunitedandstrongcountryandsustainpracticingthefourteenthequalityand
peace.