1. “I can’t say who I am unless you agree I’m real.”
Amiri Baraka
from the 1971 poem
Numbers, Letter
I use this quote, from Amiri Baraka’s 1971 poem, anytime I speak to people about the experiences of LGBTQ youth within various social service settings.
I think it provides an appropriate context for thinking about our roles as people engaged in this work – whether that role is of a direct service provider or a researcher or a policy maker or a funder or a database designer – “I can’t say who I am unless you agree I’m real.”
And then, the other day, I had the pleasure of hearing a keynote speech by Melissa Harris-Perry at the Beyond Housing Conference in NYC.
Brilliant.
And she talked about poverty and homelessness and race and racism and had really smart charts and graphs to help folks in the audience deepen their understanding about the accumulation of wealth (not monthly or annual income, but WEALTH) over time and the structural factors that make it harder for some people and she said ---- “Everyone has problems. It is the human condition. No amount of wealth. No racial privilege. No righteousness of purpose and action leads to a life without problems. Everyone has them.”

2. THE ISSUE

3. JAMA

4. What is the most frequently cited reason for LGBTQ youth homelessness?
a. Aging out of foster care
b. Lack of affordable housing options
c. Identity based family rejection

5. 46%
43%
32%
Family rejection on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity was the most frequently cited factor contributing to LGBT youth homelessness.
The next most frequently cited reason for LGBT youth homelessness was youth being forced out of their homes as a result of coming out as LGBT.
Overall, respondents reported that 7 in 10 of their LGBT clients have experienced family rejection and more than half (54%) had experienced abuse in their families.
While homelessness is traumatic for ALL youth, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, high percentages of LGBT youth must also deal with the trauma of family rejection based on WHO THEY ARE.
This is a unique characteristic specific to the experiences of LGBT youth experiencing homelessness and deserves specific attention.
17%
14%

6. LGBT Specific 24% Mainstream 76%
Also, according to our survey, most LGBT youth are accessing mainstream services.
Survey respondents indicated that 76% of homeless LGBT youth are accessing non-LGBT specific services.
This finding underscores the importance that ALL service providers need to provide competent care for LGBT youth.
Mainstream
76%

7. Percent of Service Providers
who Served any LGBT Clients, Over Time

8. TRANSITIONAL LIVING PROGRAM
LGBT YOUTH: FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS
DROP-IN & SHELTER
TRANSITIONAL LIVING PROGRAM
PERMANENCE
Youth Fear Unsafe Programs
Family & Community Rejection
Employment Barriers
Non-Affirming Policies/Procedures
Lacking Safety Net
Lacking Permanent Connections
Lacking Adequate income
Transgender youth experiencing homelessness don’t always make it through the continuum of services as efficiently or successfully as non LGBT youth
They face specific barriers that result in unsuccessful transitions at CRITICAL JUNCTURES in programming
Youth Fear Unsafe Programs
Non-Affirming Policies/Procedures
------
Employment Barriers
-----
Lacking Safety Net
Lacking Permanent Connections
Lacking Adequate income

9. INITIATIVE BACKGROUND

10. Initiative Background
Rationale
Overarching purpose
Prevent homelessness for LGBTQ youth at risk of becoming homeless
Intervene early to quickly end homelessness for LGBTQ youth
Key objectives
Facilitate local collaboration and plan development and implementation
Inform national strategies to prevent LGBTQ youth homelessness
Facilitate use of USICH Framework to End Youth Homelessness and community focus on USICH core outcome areas
TODD/JEFF
Rationale: Thinking about impact of trauma. Preventing homelessness also presents co-occurring challenges related to trauma

11. Initiative Background
Grounded in collaboration among partners
Federal agencies:
U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development (lead agency), Justice
U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
Non-federal partner: True Colors Fund
Technical assistance: American Institutes for Research, National Center on Family Homelessness (lead); Center for Social Innovation; HomeBase, The Center for Common Concerns
Expectations around funding
Timing
Importance of sharing results
TODD

12. 6-month collaborative local strategic planning process completed
Initiative Progress
12 communities considered and ranked; 2 selected based on criteria such as strength of local continuum of care:
Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio
Harris County (Houston), Texas
6-month collaborative local strategic planning process completed
Local lead agencies
Steering committees and subcommittees established
Assessment of strengths and needs
Grounded in core outcomes including stable housing, permanent connections, education and employment, and well-being
Process for completing plans: plan organization
JEFF

13. Organization of Planning Teams
Cincinnati
Houston
Awareness Building & Cultural Competence
Child Welfare
Housing & Transportation Options
Organizational Policy & Data Practices
Practical Living/Life Skills
Social & Emotional Support
Advocacy
Child Welfare
Criminal Justice
Education & Training
Employment
Funders
Primary & Behavioral Health Care
Research & Data
Schools
Shelter & Housing
Resource List
JAMA/JEFF

14. Intended Outcomes and Impacts
Stable Housing
Permanent Connections
Education and Employment
Well-being
Systems Change

15. Strategies & Activities
Cincinnati
Houston
Awareness Building & Cultural Competence
Child Welfare
Housing & Transportation Options
Organizational Policy & Data Practices
Practical Living/Life Skills
Social & Emotional Support
Advocacy
Child Welfare
Criminal Justice
Education & Training
Employment
Funders
Primary & Behavioral Health Care
Research & Data
Schools
Shelter & Housing
Resource List
JAMA:
Develop and implement multimedia public awareness/marketing campaign
Host quarterly forums – in city and suburban areas
Engage faith community in dialogues about LGBTQ identities/youth homelessness
Increase the # of LGBTQ foster youth who are placed in identity-affirming placements
Develop recruitment strategies; host home model; integrate gender identity and sexuality as factors in foster care placement
Increase the # of LGBTQ affirming housing options to prevent youth from being put out into homelessness
Shelter diversion for LGBTQ youth; feasibility study of interfaith hospitality network model; host home model
Improve data quality on sexual orientation and gender identity
Customize data fields in local HMIS; identify additional systems and potential changes
Increase access to employment opps. And skills development for LGBTQ youth
Connect with existing programs (LA Center); work with Cincinnati gay chnmber of commerce
Build awareness of risk and protective factors for screening and assessment of LGBTQ youth exp homelessness
Identify ways to incorporate LGBTQ awareness into County Plan of Cooperation between Child Welfare and First Responders

16. Early Reflections Follow the initiatives of Cincinnati and Houston
Do not reinvent the wheel (work from resources like the USICH framework)
Review available research and data and assess needs/strengths (e.g., interviews, surveys)
Be mindful of trauma and its effects on youth and families
Engage strong local leaders, or those who have the potential to be so, and develop their capacity further
JEFF
JAMA (comms plan)

17. Early Reflections Develop a shared vision
Be strategically collaborative—think about who to engage, when, why, and how
Engage local philanthropy early on
Assess and measure what works—and how and why (continuous quality improvement)
Engage youth and families in your planning and implementation
Be bold—be prepared to learn, adapt, and innovate

18. Early Reflections
Act quickly to address this crisis—there is not time for a lengthy planning process.
The challenge of a geographically large initiative (county wide).
The value of branding.
Communications and media engagement.

19. Local plan implementation
Next Steps
Local plan implementation
Delivery of technical assistance to support local implementation
Communications plan implementation
Evaluation—what we expect to learn
Documentation of local approaches
Measurement of change and understanding of successful practices
Dissemination to support awareness in the field and replication in other communities

20. WHY NOW? Federal plan to end youth homelessness by 2020
Runaway and Homeless Youth & Trafficking Prevention Act
Youth Inclusion in PIT counts
National visibility and support
True Colors Fund’s Forty to None Project
The National Coalition for Homeless Youth

21. COMMUNITY INNOVATIONS
Nashville, TN
LaunchPad
Miami, FL
Collective Impact community planning
iCount
Seattle/King County
Count us in (Youth Count)
Ruth Ellis Center
Child Welfare, RHY, Family intervention (similar to FTIP)