During the last year I’ve visited close to 100 LGBTQ equality centers and homeless service providers across the country. I’ve listened to stories about the lack of access to care, mental health services, community, and housing.
I sat in a living room in California with a young, black, trans woman who had been shuffled through the foster care system wondering why it wasn’t easier to find a home and stability on her own as she started planting roots with a chosen family and community.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma we learned the story of a young man who was turned away from his home and walked barefoot, in the middle of the night, into downtown Tulsa because he knew the equality center was a safe place, even if he didn’t know where he’d sleep next.
In Indianapolis, at the only safe transitional housing available exclusively for homeless LGBTQ youth, service providers only have a few beds to offer as the waiting list continues to grow at an alarming rate, and a majority of vulnerable LGBTQ Hoosier youth remain unhoused.
In New Orleans, we met young students who’s parents had turned them away because they were too much of a financial burden or simply unwelcome in their home for how they identify or who they love. Now looking for a welcoming community and a safe place to lay their head at night.
In Nevada, youth are scrambling to find safe spaces to sleep as equality centers and providers try their best with limited resources and funding to point them towards safety and stability.
Today, LGBTQ+ youth in America aren’t just grappling with a crisis of belonging in their communities, many are left without a home or a place to sleep. I am so proud of @PeteButtigieg's agenda for housing justice and what it means for vulnerable youth.
p4a.us/housing
p4a.us/housing
