Our families are the first people in the world we know. We come into this world entirely dependent on them for our survival. Being rejected by their families, told they have to change who they are in order to be accepted, puts young people at significant risk in many ways, especially if that young person is LGBT. NBC News reports on the crisis of homelessness and the other risks LGBT youth face when they are rejected by their families.
Despite the gains made for gay rights in recent years, homeless LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) youth have benefited little. Instead, their numbers on the streets have swelled, representing up to an estimated 40 percent of the nation’s young adult homeless population, data shows. In many cases, LGBT youth choose or are forced to leave home because their families don’t accept them. Once homeless, they are exposed to the perils of street life: violence, survival sex, and, in some cases, HIV.
This is not just a crisis of homelessness, it is a moral crisis that says a lot about these young people’s families, none of it good.
“It’s hard for me to imagine a worse and more harmful expression of homophobia in our time than the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of kids who are being rejected by their families and put out onto the streets,” said Carl Siciliano, executive director of the Ali Forney Center, a shelter for LGBT youth in New York.
Read the rest and watch the accompanying videos on NBC News’ website. Left Behind: LGBT Homeless Youth Struggle to Survive on the Streets. I also encourage you to look for ways to get involved in your community to help this vulnerable population.