Out On the Streets: LGBT Homeless Youth

Everyone deserves a loving and supportive home. But for many lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual (LGBT)  youth, they do not have a home. As society becomes more supportive of sexual equality, more and more gay and transgender people are coming out at younger ages. Today, the average coming-out age is mid-teens yet when people are in their mid-teens they still depend strongly on their families to take care of them. This makes the youth in these situations particularly vulnerable if they were to be rejected by their guardians.

Living on the streets is tough for anyone, but it is particularly hard for LGBT youth. LGBT youth are target to many hate crimes and violence while they are living on the streets. Many of the young homeless people resort to criminal activity, such as “survival sex” and theft in order to survive. Although there have been many gains for gay rights and marriage equality over the past years, LGBT youth have benefited very little. The federal government has about $4.2 billion dollars to spend each year on homeless assistance. About $195 million (approx. 21.5%) is spent on homeless youth and even less on unaccompanied youth.  There are currently no federal programs for the LGBT homeless youth.

Madison High School’s Gay-Straight Alliance advocates for sexual equality and meet on Tuesdays during lunch.