Homelessness In The LGBT Community Analysis

The topic that I would like to focus on for my conceptual paper is Homelessness in the LGBT community. Despite advances that have been made in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered rights, we as a society continue to fail the LGBT community and continue to leave our children homeless and discriminate due to our own inabilities to accept someone for their true selves. This is the root cause of our youth living on the street. “Of the nearly 1.7 million youth homeless in America, up to 40 percent of homeless teens identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and 46% of LGBT teens report family rejection as a significant factor in their homelessness” (Colbenson, K., & Ashe, A 2015). This is a real issue in our society and also one that
One group that I am very passionate about working with is the LGBT community, especially here in Atlanta, Georgia.
At first Glance, It may seem that the way Americans view homosexuality is changing and that we have enough resources to assist the population. It may also seem that a parent wouldn’t neglect or abandon their child due to the love that they have toward another person. The truth is that there are not nearly enough changes being made or nearly enough resources to aid the LGBT community and our children. The goal of my research is to bring awareness to this issue so that we provide more resources and are there to support our youth. Gaps in research and solutions are that many shelters and resources discriminate against gays leaving them to fend for themselves. Members of the LGBT community are extremely discriminated against by society, media, certain religious groups/figures and family. Many of these youths are
“ Almost thirty years ago, most people started coming out in their 20s, well after most had left home and started working. If someone’s family rejected them for being gay or transgender, it may have been emotionally painful, but the person could still likely take care of himself or herself.” (Quintana, Rosenthal, Krehely 2010) In the new millennium, our youth are coming out the closet at younger ages. They are coming out at ages where they are still dependent on their parents and guardians for food, money and shelter. For the LGBT youth in these predicaments, the shunning of their families many times leads to rebellion, trauma, suicide, mental illness, crime, sex trafficking, school drop outs, drug/alcohol abuse, etc. The lack of adequate resources such as shelters that support our youth instead of discriminating against LGBT youth and the ignorance to the issue causes this to be a growing problem. Perhaps a study which investigates the presence of homeless Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered youth in America by raising awareness, increasing specific resources and valuing all human life we can eradicate this major