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Queer and Homeless
Forum addresses issues concerning
Portland's most vulnerable citizens
by Frances Miller
City leaders searched for role models in their attempt to tackle
the tough issue of homelessness among queer youth. According to
specialists, 40 percent of Portland's homeless youth identify as
queer or sexual minority, higher than the national average.
Homeless sexual minority youth along with Multnomah County
Chairman Ted Wheeler and representatives from Outside In and the
Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center (SMYRC) hosted a policy
and program forum Feb. 21 on issues critical to that population.
The focus was on both identifying challenges for queer homeless
youth in Portland and discussing what other major cities have
done to find solutions to these problems.
According to a study conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force and the National Coalition for the Homeless, 50
percent of queer and questioning youth were subject to negative
reactions, including physical and emotional abuse from their
parents, when they came out. One in four queer youth were kicked
out of their homes as a result of disclosing their sexuality.
Many teens are left on the streets with few, if any, safe places
to go.
Kat, who chose to withhold her last name, is bisexual and
pregnant. When she came out to her family, she experienced
intense biphobia and verbal abuse from her mother. Her father
was less demonstrative in his reaction but became increasingly
watchful of Kat with any female friends. He would no longer
allow her to share a bedroom with her sister. Kat decided to
leave home, explaining that it felt like an unsafe and painful
place to live. Recently Kat tried to visit her family. "I went
last weekend to see them, but they had left town just to avoid
me," she said.
Despite gains in legal rights for sexual minorities, situations
like Kat's are still common in many families. For young adults
who can't get into or don't feel safe at their local temporary
shelter, the streets offer fewer opportunities for safety.
Homeless youth who are sexual minorities are more likely to
experience assault than their heterosexual counterparts.
According to a survey conducted in 2005 by the National Runaway
Switchboard, queer youth are seven times more likely to become
crime victims. Rej Joo, a queer and trans youth advocate at
Outside In, found that in a survey of 123 youth participants, 29
percent had engaged in sex work for food and shelter. Studies
show that queer homeless youth are more vulnerable to risky
sexual behavior, mental health issues and substance abuse than
straight homeless youth. All of these obstacles make it
difficult for young adults to hope and plan for a viable future
adulthood.
SMYRC and Outside In have co-created a project aimed at
supporting queer homeless youth called Queerzone, financed by
the United Way. At the forum, youth speakers participating in
Queerzone identified obstacles they face on the streets. Later,
participants at the forum broke into small groups and discussed
potential solutions using examples of what places like Seattle,
Massachusetts and New York have done to confront this issue.
Both Seattle and New York have teen homeless shelters dedicated
solely to sexual minorities. Massachusetts has implemented
mandatory cultural competency training for more than 2,000 state
and government employees around the issue of queer youth
homelessness.
Participants in the forum agreed that gains were being made to
combat homelessness. The consensus at the forum was that, in
Portland, queer teens need a dedicated shelter to feel safer and
more accepted. It was also agreed that all staff people at local
agencies that serve queer youth need to undergo competence
training on queer issues at least once a year and that they can
clearly demonstrate competency on sexual minority issues. One of
the youth speakers, who identified himself only as E, noted:
"Having to educate and train your counselors on your own
oppression makes it hard to trust that counselor or agency."
Other ideas at the event included peer education programs,
increased federal and state funding for sexual minority youth
programs, longer drop-in hours for homeless youth and services
that focus on getting this vulnerable population planning for
their futures.
For more information about Outside In call 503-535-3800 or visit
www.outsidein.org.
For more information about the Sexual Minority Youth Resource
Center call 503-872-9664 or visit
www.smyrc.org.
Visit Queerzone at
www.myspace.com/queerzone07.
Frances Miller is an activist and writer in Portland.
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