New study: Atlanta homeless LGBT youth numbers are Growing

I saw this in the GA Voice and cringed. I can't believe this info. Who would've thought?

So, let's jump to it. A Georgia State study revealed that over 950 of the 3,374 homeless youth in the metro Atlanta are LGBT.

GA Voice reports:

That’s a 27 percent increase over a previously reported estimate of 750 LGBT homeless youth in the area.

The new findings come from Georgia State University’s 2015 Atlanta Youth Count and Needs Assessment (AYCNA), which took place from May through July of last year and involved 50 Georgia State and Emory University students scouring the metro Atlanta area to count homeless youth between the ages of 14 and 25.

“Certainly the fact that well over one-in-four homeless youth identify as LGBT, the 6.5 percent that identify as transgender, all of those sadly reinforce what we have known anecdotally for a really long time—that homelessness among young LGBT people is something we really need to focus on,” said Georgia Equality executive director Jeff Graham, who was in attendance at the Tuesday press conference.

And...

Other troubling numbers from the study concerned Atlanta’s homeless transgender youth.

Transgender and gender nonconforming homeless youth reported higher rates of sexual activity, with 37.8 percent reporting sexual activity with six or more partners in the past year versus an overall average of 22.6 percent who reported the same.

Over half of the transgender and gender nonconforming homeless youth reported being the victim of sexual abuse and nearly all—93.1 percent—reported that they had been paid for sex.

There were, however, some surprising numbers on HIV testing and infection. 88.5 percent of the total respondents reported being tested for HIV at least once ever, with four out of five in that group saying they’d had a test in the past year. And only 2.7 percent of the overall group reported being HIV positive, with 2.8 percent saying they didn’t know their status.

Survey: 43% of Philly’s Homeless Youth are LGBTQ

This is sad to post, but according to a survey conducted by Valley Youth House, Covenant House, Project HOME, the Attic Youth Center, the Mazzoni Center, 43% of homeless youth in Philadelphia identify as LGBTQ.

Philly Mag reports:

According to Valley Youth House, they saw the survey’s results as a “resolve to expand its services to meet the demand of this underrepresented group with programs such as a shelter specifically for LGBTQIA young people and programs specifically for transgender youth.”
"We are the only agency providing independent living support for homeless LGBTQIA youth in Philadelphia," said Allison Moore, Regional Director for Valley Youth House. "Our Pride program provides rapid rehousing along with life skills, education, and employment support to about 50 young people act year, though the demand for services is higher than we are able to meet."

This is just Philly, imagine other major cities.

Cyndi Lauper goes to Capitol Hill for LGBT Homeless Youth

Instead of showing her crotch or kissing the hot new thing on stage, Cyndi Lauper has been putting her stardom to good use. For many years now, Cyndi has been a fierce advocate for LGBT homeless youth.

Yesterday, Cyndi went to Capitol Hill to talk about homeless youth. She also talked with Senator Susan Collins about LGBT youth being turned away from shelters, especially the Trans youth.

Here's more

Ms. Collins said that could be fixed by requiring shelters that received federal aid to adhere to a nondiscrimination policy, which was a provision in a bill to reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, which expired in 2013. It fell four votes short of the 60-vote threshold for passage as an amendment to a contentious human-trafficking bill.

The problem, Ms. Collins said, was “confusion” over parts of the amendment, including a measure misinterpreted as a restriction on faith-based organizations’ ability to show preference in hiring those of their own faith. Ms. Collins pointed out that the Justice Department already provided that protection. She said she hoped to clarify that when and take another crack at passing the measure she originally introduced.

“Well, when will that be, do you think?” Ms. Lauper asked.

“I don’t know exactly,” Ms. Collins said.

“Then what should we do?” Ms. Lauper said.

Keep pushing, Ms. Collins responded. But she has yet to discuss another effort to reauthorize the legislation, either as a stand-alone bill or an amendment, with Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky.

“Who is that guy?” Ms. Lauper asked.

“He is the majority leader,” Ms. Collins said. “He decides what comes to the floor.”

I applaud Cyndi for doing this. Our youth need a champion and I think she is that person.

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Support #Pizza4Equality and help Homeless Kids

In the spirit of Easter, here's something you can get behind.

There are so many homeless LGBT kids who need our help. Check out this new GoFundMe page #Pizza4Equality!

Here's more:

There is much disgust and consternation in the LGBT community over a viral fundraiser effort, that has as of this writing, earned $842,387. Many have lamented, "If only our cause could raise that much money that fast."

I say, yes, we can.

So I looked and saw that Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund has set April 29 as the first national #40toNoneDay to end #LGBT youth homelessness! And I thought, would it not be totally awesome if we equality supporters (and pizza lovers) could match that #MemoriesPizza "charity" by April 29? Can we match their amount and help homeless youth get off the street, learn life skills and get an education and jobs?

I'm an dreamer, but I say yes, we can!

All proceeds will go to The True Colors Fund which works to end homelessness among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth, creating a world in which young people can be their true selves. READ MORE HERE…

The True Colors Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Gay Teen Daniel Pierce speaks at Homeless Shelter Opening

Interesting Quote: Linda Harvey

"'Kids are kicked out of their homes just for being who they are,' is how the saying goes, well let me offer another possibility that I've heard far too often: a parent learns that a son or daughter is claiming to be gay but an underage child still lives at home, so the now-heartbroken parent puts new restrictions on some of the activities like for instance, the teen is no longer going to be having sleepovers with that same-sex friend, or if the friend is a college student or has an apartment, visits over there will not be permitted.

"What does the teen do? It may become a fight where the teen storms out by choice and leaves voluntarily because the homosexual relationship is more important than that of his or her parents. And when that all-important relationship ends, the teen is too stubborn or already too-involved in alcohol or drugs or the premature independence of the homosexual life and he or she would rather drift than return home. It's not always the case of course but personal decisions are at the heart of these issues."

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New Teaser Trailer: The Pier Kids: The Life

A new Kickstarter campaign is coming.

The documentary called The Pier Kids: The Life will be about the LGBT homeless youth in NYC. The campaign starts on Nov. 1st, but you can see a bit of it from the teaser.

The Kickstarter campaign will help the film get completed and pay for the post-production costs.

Good luck, we are cheering for you. This looks like a great project and I will definitely support this.

For more info, please go here

WATCH A Short, Powerful film about Homeless LGBT Youth

New Documentary explores Homeless LGBT Youth of Color in New York City

Here is an interest doc about the homeless LGBT youth of color in NYC.

The feature is called Pier Kids: The Life. Here's the premise:

Pier Kids, a documentary by first-time director Elegance Bratton, follows the plight of black LGBTQ homeless youth in New York City. The name originates from the youth population that congregates along Christoper Street in New York City's Greenwich Village and the surrounding piers during the nights and weekends. As many may be aware (but ignore), some of them sell their bodies for money, some of them are strung out on dope; all of them are treated unequally by a society that refuses to accept them, and refuses to help them.

Looks like a must see

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Homeless LGBT Youths are easy prey for Human Trafficking

This makes me sad, y'all.

On the The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) website, they talk about a frightening issue besetting homeless LGBT youth.

Not only do they make up 40% of the runaway and homeless youth population, but they face huge chances of being victims of human trafficking.

More and more of our youths are falling victims to this everyday. And the horrible thing is they don't see a way out. However, organizations are trying to change this situation. There are services like the Runaway and Homeless Youth Program and The Family and Youth Services Bureau that are trying to save our kids from the streets. And there are others as well, fighting to save our youths from human trafficking.

If you can, help support these initiatives or places in your cities. Our kids need us and if we can help, we need to do so.

Please, click on the link above to read more about this.

New Infogaphic: Preventing the Tragedy of LGBT Youth Homelessness

This was sent by Brian Pesner, the Community Manager for the Master of Social Work program at USC.

Here's the premise

Although homelessness affects many people, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth make up a disproportionate segment of that population. While 1.7 million adolescents experience at least one episode of homelessness a year, between 20-to-40 percent of that population identify as LGBT. 

In 2009, President Barack Obama declared June as LGBT Pride Month. The objective of this infographic, created in partnership with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Human Rights Campaign and the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work, is to highlight some of the unique challenges that lead to LGBT youth homelessness, in addition to some of the mental health problems that affect the population. While we still have a long way to go, several homelessness non-profits, federal agencies and LGBT advocacy organizations, such as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Human Rights Campaign, are working together to provide solutions to this tragedy.

Please check out this Infographic after the jump