Many queer youth throughout the United States are left homeless as a result of discrimination from their own family members.  The 2017 New York City Youth Count Report found almost 20 percent of youth in unstable living conditions identified as gay.  Over 40 percent identified as gay, bisexual or transgender, as did around 25 percent of unsheltered homeless youth.  Queer and gender-nonconforming youth often face rejection and discrimination from parents and guardians.  Members of this demographic are sometimes forced out of their homes, or flee to escape physically or sexually abusive family members.  A report published by the University of Nebraska in 2004 found that 58 percent of LGBTQ+ homeless youth had been sexually victimized. 

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Bee Davies worked as a youth counselor at the Ali Forney Center, an LGBTQ+ youth shelter in Harlem, from April to December of 2017. “The reasons for coming are so varied.”  She said, “a large part of it is because of their identities, either gender or sexuality.” She noted that many of the residents had experienced abuse or neglect earlier in life. 

 

The Youth Count report also showed around 40 percent of unsheltered youth identified as black.  According to the New York Post, only 23 percent of the city’s population is black or African American.  There is considerable disproportion between the representation of black and queer youth in the homeless population, compared to the city as a whole. Though family rejection is a common pathway to homelessness for LGBTQ+ youth, other factors contribute to a disproportionate representation of youth of color in the homeless community.  

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“I think it’s a product of structural racism, heterosexism, cisgenderism and the systematic oppression of people of color and queer people,” said Jama Shelton, Ph.D.

 

Dr. Shelton works as an assistant professor of social work at Hunter College’s Silberman School, holding a Ph.D. in Social Welfare.  The social worker identifies as gender non-binary, asking to be referred to as “they” or “them.” They have contributed to a variety of research projects examining populations of homeless youth.  Currently, Dr. Shelton is working on a multi-city project with realyst.org.  The website is an educational resource run by social workers and academic researchers, hosting information on youth homelessness.  Findings from their ongoing research will be made available as soon as summer or fall of 2018. 

 

“When looking at the population of youth experiencing homelessness, generally we know that LGBTQ people are overrepresented, and so are youth of color, and specifically black youth,” said Dr. Shelton.  They clarified, “We have to look at it intersectionally like that, otherwise we create this sort of narrative that looks like, on the surface, that families of color are more homophobic or transphobic.”  

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Because queer youth of color are more likely to become homeless than their white peers, it is easy to assume communities of color are less accepting of queer people. Recent studies indicate poverty among communities of color increases chances of homelessness for people of color.

 

Dr. Shelton referenced research seen at a recent conference, discussing the disparity in likelihood between white and black people to become homeless.  “There are more white people living in extreme poverty, proportionally than black people, but black people are two times as likely to be homeless,” they said. In other words, the chances of becoming homeless for white people are doubled for black people, contributing to a larger percentage of people of color in the LGBTQ+ homeless community.

 

As seen in the accompanying video Blondi’s Birthday, growing up in a conservative religious community can result in permanent trauma and limited access to education on gender identity and sexual practices for queer people.  

 

This proved to be the case for homeless advocate and rapper, 24-year-old Auset Bennu. She is another sheltered trans woman currently staying at Marsha’s House (an LGBTQ+ shelter named after celebrated gay rights activist Marsha P. Johnson). Like Blondi Alexander (from Miami), Bennu grew up as a Jehova’s Witness. 

 

“That was so restrictive. I could not wear name brands, I could not celebrate birthdays, I could not celebrate no holidays. It was a cult,” said Bennu. “It can be traumatizing.” 

 

Before becoming homeless, Bennu attended college at SUNY New Paltz.  At the time she was identifying as a gay man, and leaving her family in Washington Heights allowed her to explore unknown parts of her identity. She said, “I was like getting tattoos and I was getting piercings and I was, you know, finding myself!”

 

As a mostly liberal metropolitan area, New York City has become a destination for marginalized peoples.  In search of opportunity, many turn to the freedom of expression and identity celebrated in the Big Apple, recognized by disenfranchised people throughout the United States and beyond its borders.  

 

According to modernhealthcare.com, a publication dedicated to healthcare, New York is one of 16 states in which Medicare covers the cost of hormone therapy and gender transition surgeries for transgender people.  Many LGBTQ+ youth leave their home towns to enroll in programs like FIERCE, New Alternatives, Ali Forney Center, The Door, Marsha’s House and Thrive offering free housing placement, counseling, healthcare and case-management services.  Services can include psychological evaluation for gender transition hormones and surgeries, legal name changes as well as helping clients find employment. 

 

While organizations like these provide basic necessities to clients, there is no guaranteed protection from the daily violence of being queer or a person of color.  Transgender people especially are put at risk of sexual assault and violence at typical male and female homeless shelters.

 

“I didn’t feel safe at the men’s shelter, because back then I was identifying as non-gendered,” said Bennu.  Laughing, she said, “I had a wig and I was just at the women’s shelter for only two days.”  A hefty amount of paperwork allowed her to make a hasty transfer to Marsha’s House (a shelter for LGBTQ+ adults).  By presenting all the necessary legal documents, she avoided spending an additional three weeks in another shelter.

 

“Not knowing where you’re gonna sleep is in and of itself a traumatic experience,” said Jama Shleton.  Embodying queerness, without the protection of white privilege can also prove traumatic in itself, explained Dr. Shelton.  

 

The Ali Forney Center is a well-known overnight shelter for LGBTQ+ youth, receiving more coverage in the media than similar organizations. Celebrity visits from stars like Lady Gaga and a February 2017 Teen Vogue video interview with pop-singer Troye Sivan have brought the center into the public eye. Like any homeless shelter, living quarters are shared and fall short of idyllic.  Difficulties of homeless life are not always checked at the door.  

 

A resident of the Ali Forney Center, Le’Quann Corbett, complained that some clients pretended to identify as queer, just to have a place to stay.  “I’m not saying it’s wrong to help heterosexual people,” said Corbett.

 

“I don’t like it,” he said, “when you let just anyone in, because they mark off they’re a part of the community, when they’re clearly not.  And they start disrespecting people, and you don’t want to do anything about it. There’s a lot of heterosexual people there, and they’re disrespectful.”  Experiences like this indicate that not even spaces designated specifically for LGBTQ+ people are entirely effective in partitioning access to resources between heterosexual and queer people. 

 

Corbett, a 24-year-old gay man, would welcome the opening of additional LGBTQ+ homeless shelters around the city.  “We don’t really have many options, especially when you’re 21 and over.”  He said, “it’s outrageous, honestly.”

 

Before transferring to Marsha’s House, Auset Bennu had also been staying at the Ali Forney center.  “It was a very chaotic process they have over there,” she complained about the strict daily regimen and in-and-out rotation of clientele. once all of the beds have been filled by those 21 years old and younger, they also turn away people over a certain age, because it is a designated youth shelter. 

 

“You take ten minute showers, you have to check in at 2:00,  you have to be there by 8:00 to claim your bed, go to sleep at 11:00, and then wake up at 6:00 a.m. and do it all over again,” said Bennu. 

 

Skye Adrian came to New York as young gay man from Jamaica.  Arriving as an immigrant in New York City, he sought help from the Ali Forney Center.  He said, “it was an LGBTQ-only space, so of course I felt a lot safer than I would have at other shelters.”  Adrian benefitted from the free case-management and emergency shelter which they provided to him. 

 

While a resident of the center, Adrian took part in a vocational program they offer, called LEAP. He served on their advocacy team for the majority of his stay there.  The center got around legal issues of paying Adrian as an immigrant, by only giving him a certain number of hours per year. The arrangement wasn’t fulfilling to him as an advocate.  His voice as an queer immigrant of color and homeless person “was almost being tokenized to an extent,” he said. 

 

A friend of Adrian recommended he pursue employment with FIERCE (Fabulous Independent Educated Radicals for Community Empowerment). Located near the Fordham Road subway station in the Bronx, the organization serves as a drop-in and community center for queer youth of color.  The surrounding neighborhood is predominantly African American, Hispanic and Latino. 

 

FIERCE holds workshops on police brutality, miranda rights, vogueing and more for queer youth of color.  This demographic is is subject to policing for prostitution and truancy, as a result of bullying in schools, homelessness and engaging in sex work as a means of survival. 

 

Kate Barnhart is a case manager and the executive director of New Alternatives.  The non-profit organization provides case management, clothing donations, health counseling and meals to homeless LGBTQ+ people.

 

“When it comes to making money of course, there’s so much discrimination and difficulty with finding legal employment that folks often do turn to various illegal activities,” said Barnhart. 

 

“If you’re any of these sort of street type parts of the illegal economy, you can be in danger.”  She said, “for instance, if you’re doing sex work there are all kinds of dangers associated with that.” 

 

A 2016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report said, “some transgender persons may turn to exchange sex because of discrimination and lack of economic opportunities.” This demographic is often poor, stigmatized and lack proper healthcare, “all of which pose challenges to HIV prevention efforts,” according to the CDC.

 

FIERCE held a demonstration at Chelsea Piers on Wednesday April 25, 2018.  By pushing for more beds in shelters and raising the age limit on who can stay in designated LGBTQ+ spaces, they aim to provide services to a larger portion of the queer homeless population.  Their most vocal members and staff, like Skye Adrian, are currently or formerly homeless queer people of color.  

 

These programs offer a helping hand to the LGBTQ+ homeless at the community level; however, homelessness persists to be an progressive issue that is swept under the rug. The legal age limit for youth shelters was 21, until a recent vote by the City Council determined the new age limit for youth shelter residents would be 24 years old. Jama Shelton noted current psychological research indicating full maturity is not reached in adults until the age of 25. “We as social services haven’t caught up with that research,” said Dr. Shelton. 

 

“One in 10 New York City school kids are homeless right now,” said openly-gay City Council Speaker candidate Corey Johnson in a November 2017 channel Thirteen Metrofocus forum.  Since his election, he has made the issue a top legislative priority, sponsoring the ‘Raise the Age’ bill that passed in April. 

 

Jama Shelton favored the legislation that put policy in place to allow greater access to those still struggling to find a stable living situation, despite being over 21 years old.  They said, “There’s not a consistent definition of young people, number one, and number two, of homelessness.” 

 

Voting in favor of raising the age limit for youth shelters has contributed to a beneficial understanding of to whom the term youth applies, and who benefits from that categorization.  “You can’t track something where people can’t agree on a definition,” said Dr. Shelton. 

 

Similarly, the passing of a statewide bill to raise the age limit on juvenile detention facilities was reported by The New York Times  in April 2017.  The legislation sought to treat 16 and 17-year-old defendants as minors in the justice system, instead of holding them in adult jails.