KatherinePerezDeleon

ProfessorBatty
English113A
23November2015

LGBTQYouthHomeless
TheLGBTQhomelessyouthcommunityintheUnitedStatesincreasesmoreandmore
everyyear.Thosewhomhaveidentifiedthemselvesashomosexualshavefacedparlous
obstaclesnotonlywithneglectionfromsocietybutalsothederelictionoftheirfamiliesaswell.
ItisacrucialtopictoreachoutformoregovernmentfundingstohelpcasetheLGBTyouth
homelessness.
Itisnoteasyforachildtoexposethemselvestosocietyandannouncetheirsexuality.
Manyfacetrauma,discriminationandothernegativeexperiencesthatcancausethemtofallinto
substanceuse,sexualexploitationandsuicide.Manypeopledonotagreeandmanyofthemare
theirownfamilieswhichmakesitmoredifficult.Thoseparentsandfamilymemberswhodonot
knowwhattodokickouttheirownchildoutoftheirhomesatanearlyageanddonotknow
wheretogofromthere.Between240,000and400,000lesbian,gay,bisexualandtransgender
youthexperienceatleastoneepisodeofhomelessnesseachyearintheUnited
States.(Ream,pg.8)ThiswasastudyconductedbytheNationalAllianceendtoHomelessness
andthesedatawasrecordedin2012.Itisobviousthatthesenumberskeepincreasingandwill
notstopunlessthegovernmentcreatesandfundsmorehomelesssheltersspecificallyforthe
LGBTyouthcommunity.
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,manyofthembegintobecomesocialwithotherhomelesstoprovideaformofsafety
foreachotherandsometimesattheexpenseoftheindividualswellbeing.Thefirstthingthat
comestomindistofortheyouthtogetjobs,butitisnotaseasyassocietythinks.Manyofthe
LGBTyouthwholookforjobshavenotfinishedhighschool,donothavetherightattireforan
interviewandmanydonotidentityidentificationbecauseithaseitherbeenstolen,lostorisstill

withfamilymemberswhorefusetogiveittothem.Theseareproblemsthegovernmenttriesto
refrainfromoccurringbutthereisn'tenoughfundingtowardshomelesssheltersspecificallyfor
theLGBTQyouth.
Althoughitistruethatthegovernmentprovidesveryfewsheltersandtransitionalliving
programs(TIP)instatessuchasNewYorkCitythatprovidecarefortheLGBTyouth
communitybutthespacesandbedsaresolimited.Inthisstate40%ofthehomelessareLGBT
andmostofthemarenotbeingprovidedcareintheseprograms.Mainly,becausethe
discriminationagainsttheseyouthareincreasingandthoseprogramsthattakeintheLGBTare
notsetuptosupportyouthforaslongastheyneedit.Injustonlyonecounttherewereonly
336bedscitywide.(Ream,pg.16)ThenumberofbedsintheTIPdoesnotevencoveraportion
oftheLGBThomelessyouthinthecity.Everyhomelessyouthdeservesabed,theyareall
children.
Thisisasilentproblemacrossthecountry.Ourpeoplearefocusedonmakingthecountry
abetterplacebutoneofthefirstplacestheyneedtostartiswiththehomelessyouth.Allyouth,
notjustheterosexuals.LGBTyouthhaveahigherpercentageinbeingdiagnosedwithpost
traumaticstressdisorder,suicidalthoughts,etc.thantheirheterosexualpeers.Beinghomeless
doesnothelptheyouthwiththesedisordersingettingbetter.Instead,itdoestheopposite.
especiallylivinginthestreets.Howdoessocietyexpectfortheyouthtobetterthemselvesand
getajobiftheyarebeingturnedawayonlybecauseoftheirstatus.Itisnearlyimpossibleforthe
LGBThomelesstosurviveandlookforhelpifeverywheretheygotheyarebeingterrorizedby
anyonewhodiscriminatestheLGBTQcommunity.
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.
Thecommunityneedstousetheirvoiceandstandupfortheseyouthbecauseinorderfor
ourcountrytostriveandsustainthepower,peaceandequalityitneedstobeginwiththeyouth.
TheLGBTyouthisthefutureoftheUnitedStatesaswellasheterosexualsbutifthegovernment
providesthesameequalbenefitsandhomesforthehomeless,togethertheyouthandtheir
knowledgeareabletocreatesomethingmorepowerful.Indoingthis,itwillmakeourcountry
willreachthegoalofbecomingmorestrongandmostimportantlyunited.
Inconclusion,itisclearthatgovernmentfundingisnotfairanditisnotsufficientenough
anddoesnotmeettherequirementsthatthehomelessyouthneeds.Unfortunately,childwelfare
andthefostercaresystemisintendedbythegovernmenttoprovideahavenfortheyouthnot
onlyforheterosexualsbutfortheLGBTaswell.Butinmanycasesitcanbeasystemthat
replicatestheconditionstheyouthneedtobespared.Inordertostopvictimizingthe
LGBTyouth,thereneedstobemoreauthorityintothesesheltersandmorefundinginto

homelesssheltersspecificallyfortheLGBTyouth.