LGBT youth make up just 7 percent of the general youth population nationwide, but 40 percent of the youth homeless population.
That's according to the Center for Youth in Rochester. The Center has unveiled a long-term campaign called "By Their Side" to raise funds and awareness about disparities in LGBT youth homelessness. The goal? Secure more beds to get LGBT youth access to reliable housing.
According to the Center's director, Elaine Spaull, local shelters are already struggling to fill that need and and it's only gotten worse recently.
“I’m sorry to say, we have lost up to 60 percent of our homeless youth beds in the last 24 months," she said about local shelters serving youth. "I always say this, I’m not shy, if we lost 60 percent of our high-end restaurants, hotel rooms or airlines, everybody would be freaking out,” she said.
“These youth are at an increased risk of being victims of violence, discrimination, sex trafficking unsafe sexual practices, and mental health issues just to name a few of those problems,” said State Assemblyman Harry Bronson who pledged his support to the campaign Friday. He says that as a gay elected official he has seen and heard about many youth facing harsher, and even dangerous, situations because of their sexuality.
He says many leave home in the first place because of their “perceived irreconcilable sense of their identity with their home environment. Whatever the cause, with no home, they find themselves couch hopping, going from one friend’s couch to the next friends’…and in some situations they find themselves on the street.”
68 percent of LGBT homeless youth say family rejection plays a central role in their homelessness. This may be due to religion, societal standards or other harmful ideas about LGBT. But as Bronson mentions, many end up as victims or perpetrators of crime once on the street where they must struggle for their livelihood.
That’s where the Center’s partnership with Rochester Police and the Monroe County District Attorney’s office comes in.
“You know many of you may think ‘why am I here as a District Attorney supporting this project?’ But it’s wonderful,” she said. “We want to be on the frontline. We want to prevent crime. We want to help youth and this was a no brainer to me.”
As victims of trafficking or perpetrators of need-based crime, these youth often end up in the court system, Doorley says. She added that reliable housing could be a key resource to keeping them out of legal trouble.
It’s a unique solution to an issue many cities face nationwide. According to the Center, there is no sustainable government funding to rely on for the securing of extra beds. That’s why they turned to donations and fundraising.
Scotty Ginett is an advocate and member of the local LGBT community. He says the campaign and Center can provide a resource many LGBT didn’t have growing up.
“I look back to when I was 18, and I was briefly homeless, hopping couch to couch learning my identity coming out,” said Ginett. “[I needed] the support and resources that didn’t exist in my hometown and that can exist here in Rochester. And so the Rochester community has the opportunity to make a difference in homeless LGBTQ lives.”
The campaign includes a number of events and has no set end date. On Monday, Ginett will host a reception for the campaign. It’s one of the fundraisers slated to help the Center eventually secure more housing. Learn more about that reception here.