USICH on LGBTQ Youth Homelessness

The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness recently published several articles pertaining to the issues of gay homeless youth including the following:


LGBTQ Youth Homelessness

 Youth homelessness is a problem that doesn’t fit neatly into a box. The exact number of youth experiencing homelessness is difficult to determine: they are undercounted in national data as unaccompanied youth are often unconnected to services or shelters.  Though they do not have a safe stable place to call home, many wind up “couch surfing” with friends, relatives, or acquaintances.  There does appear to be agreement that twenty to forty percent of youth experiencing homelessness self-identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ), which is disproportionate to the percentage of LGBTQ youth in the general youth population.

Like many homeless youth, LGBTQ youth either runaway or are forced out of the home due to severe family conflict, abuse, neglect, mental health or physical disabilities. They are more at risk once they are homeless for sexual abuse and exploitation.   There is a high incidence of depression, suicide initiations, and other mental health disorders among all youth experiencing homelessness, and chronic physical health conditions are common as are high rates of substance abuse disorders.  Yet, in spite of all this, if you’ve ever had the opportunity to hang out with LGBTQ youth in a drop in center or elsewhere, you know they are energetic, funny, thoughtful teenagers who have the same hopes and dreams as their peers.

Across the country, there are programs aimed at reaching out to and assisting LGBTQ youth experiencing or at risk of homelessness, we highlight two such programs below. There are people and programs across the Federal government working to provide housing and services that will best help LGBTQ youth to become stable enabling them to lead safe, healthy and productive lives.  We provide a list of resources below that help to paint a picture of the difficulties LGBTQ youth encounter in America and the work that is being done around the county to aid these youth in finding a sense of self they can celebrate.

There is more we can and should do to help these young people to safety. Opening Doors: the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness sets the goal of ending youth homelessness by 2020. Through collaborations between the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness and 19 federal agencies, we are working to make sure that all youth, including LGBTQ youth, do not fall through the cracks and that they receive the following:

   1. Low Barrier Housing
   2. Education that helps lead to employment
   3. On-going support services connected to mainstream resources
   4. Independent Living Skills Training
   5. Connections to supportive and trusting adults and a support network

In collaboration with the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs, USICH will draft a framework to specifically address the housing and service needs of youth at risk of or experiencing homelessness. This group will also examine ways that Federal agencies can better collaborate and allow better access to existing resources for those most at risk, including LGBTQ youth.