1Center for American Progress | Supporting Gay and Transgender Youth Most in Need
Supporting Gay and TransgenderYouth Most in Need
White House Conference Turns Spotlighton Housing and Homelessness Issues ImpactingGay and Transgender Population
Melissa Dunn and Jeff Krehely March 2012
Te Whie House oday is hosing he LGB Conerence on Housing & Homelessnessin Deroi, Michigan. Te even is held in parnership wih heRuh Ellis Cenerand ishe second in a series o conerences being held across he counry o address he uniqueneeds o gay and ransgender Americans.
1
Te keynoe speaker a oday’s even is Secreary Shaun Donovan o he U.S.Deparmen o Housing and Urban Developmen. In January, HUD Secreary Donovanspoke a heNaional Gay and Lesbian ask Force’s Creaing Change conerence inBalimore, where he announced his deparmen’s new equal access rule, which will helpreduce housing discriminaion on he basis o sexual orienaion and gender ideniy.oday’s conerence signals he Obama adminisraion’s ongoing commimen o advanc-ing equaliy or gay and ransgender people.Te adminisraion’s parnership wih he Ruh Ellis Cener helps draw much-neededatenion o he huge and pervasive problem o gay and ransgender youh homeless-ness in America. According o repors, beween5 percen and 7 perceno all American youh are gay or ransgender. Tese youh, however, comprise7 percen o 40 perceno all homeless youh in he Unied Saes. Tis dispariy is being driven a leas in par by he ac ha gay and ransgender youh are coming ou a youngerages. As our laws and culure become more inclusive and acceping o gay and ransgenderpeople, many more now come ou in heirearly o mid-eens , when hey are much moredependen on heir amilies and communiies or suppor. Unorunaely, heir amiliesand communiies migh no be able o accep hese youh and migh be unable o givehem he suppor and nurure hey need.
1 In this issue brief the term “gay” is used as an umbrella term for people who identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual.
2Center for American Progress | Supporting Gay and Transgender Youth Most in Need
Tis issue brie explains why gay and ransgender youh oo oen end up on he srees, wha happens o hese youh once hey are on he srees or in homeless shelers, andhe seps ha he ederal governmen can ake o help reduce he incidence and severiy o his problem.
Why they’re on the streets
As gay and ransgender youh come ou a younger ages, hey ace a lack o eecivesocial saey nes boh in he home and a school. A home gay and ransgender youhoen ace high levels o amily rejecion. Such youh aresignifcanly more likely oengage in high-risk behaviors such as using illici drugs, having unproeced sex, andatemping suicide. Tey are also more likely o experience depression han heir heero-sexual and nonransgender peers.Many gay and ransgender youh leave home o escapeamily rejecion o heir sexual orienaion or gender ideniy or even he violence andabuse ha someimes sems rom his rejecion. Youh who have i rough a home oen canno rely on heir school as an escape romamily rejecion. A school84 perceno gay and ransgender sudens repor being verbally harassed,40 percenrepor being physically harassed, and19 percenrepor
being physically assauled. Tree in fve gay sudens el unsae in school because o heir sexual orienaion, and nearly wo in fveransgender sudens el unsae becauseo heir gender ideniy.Even worse, gay and ransgender sudens repor asonishingly low levels o confdencein heir schools. Nearly wo-hirdso sudens who are harassed or assauled did norepor he inciden o heir schools’ sa because hey did no hink he siuaion wouldimprove, or hey eared i migh even ge worse. In ac,one-hirdo bullied gay andransgender sudens ha repored bullying o school adminisraors said he aculy did nohing o address he issue. Tey are righ—eachers across he board repor hahey do no eel heir gay and lesbian sudens are sae, bu ha bullying based on sexualorienaion and gender ideniy is so pervasive hey are powerless o sop i.
Once they’re on the streets
Many gay and ransgender youh urn o he srees as an escape rom unacceping orabusive amilies or school climaes. Bu his is mos oen a ragic misake because heharsh condiions o school and home are oen beter han wha youh experience on hesrees. Gay and ransgender homeless youh experience7.4 moreacs o sexual violenceon he srees han heir heerosexual and nonransgender homeless counerpars. Tey acewicehe rae o sexual vicimizaion and aremore likely o be asked o exchange
sex or money, ood, or sheler.
3Center for American Progress | Supporting Gay and Transgender Youth Most in Need
Wih all o hese condiions compounded, sudies fnd homeless lesbian youh o bemore a risk or pos-raumaic sress syndrome, behavioral disorders, and subsanceabuse han heir homeless heerosexual emale counerpars. Likewise, he sress andsubjecion o being homeless makes gay youhmore likely o have depressive episodeshan heir heerosexual homeless counerpars.ransgender youh also ace increased sexually relaed healh risks on he srees. According o a repor by heNaional Gay and Lesbian ask Force ,nearly hal o all
ransgender homeless youh have engaged in survival sex, andmany repor engaging inunsae behaviors ha placed hem a risk o becoming HIV posiive.
Once they’re in shelters
Te condiions homeless gay and ransgender youh ace when hey ener homelessshelers can be jus as bleak and violen as heir experiences on he srees. Gay and rans-gender youh are more likely han heir heerosexual and nonransgender counerparso be sexually and physically vicimized in shelers. Gay youh are10 imesmore likely o be sexually abused or experience sa sexual misconduc han heir heerosexual couner-pars. ransgender youh are aincreasedrisk o physical abuse when orced o use show-ers o heir birh gender. Anda majoriy o proessional sa a shelers and group homesrepor eeling ha gay and ransgender youh are no sae in hese setings. Many homelessgay and ransgender youh even fnd hemselves in shelers ha ry o conver hem or use“reparaive herapies” o change heir sexual orienaion or gender ideniy.ransgender youh aceaddiional specifc ypeso discriminaion when hey enerhomeless shelers. Tey are oen orced o use bahrooms and sleeping quarers o heir birh gender, raher han he one hey presenly ideniy wih or presen hemselvesas. Tese policies pu already-vulnerable ransgender youh ino poenially dangeroussiuaions, where hey can mee a violen response or heir gender ideniy or gendernonconorming behaviors. Tis means ha in some areas, he srees—no ederally unded shelers—are oen he saes opion or ransgender homeless youh.
What can and is being done
In order o reduce he disproporionae levels o homelessness among gay and ransgen-der youh (and o help end youh homelessness more generally), concered governmenacion is needed. As o 2009 he ederal governmen spends more han $4.2 billiononhousing assisance each year, or programs such as ederally backed morgages and moreaccessible low-income amily housing. O his, less han 5 percen ($195 million) isspecifcally dedicaed o combaing youh homelessness. Consequenly, o he766,800 conacs wih homeless youh ha ederally unded programs were successully able omake in 2008, sheler beds were only available or44,483o hem.
Search History:
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
p.
Supporting Gay and Transgender Youth Most in Need
Melissa Dunn and Jeff Krehely give an overview of gay and transgender homelessness and how to address the problem in light of a White House conference on the topic today.
345
Reads
1
Readcasts
8
Embed Views
More From This User
Notes
Load more
