Young, Gay And Homeless: Fighting For Resources

Unfortunately I find that I'm writing more and more about a segment of our society deemed by many to be throwaways - homeless teens. Among this group between 30 and 40 percent fall into the LGBTQ group, many kicked out of their homes for being gay, or even for being perceived as being LGBT. As this article points out, and as I strongly feel, the race for equality we are so vehemently struggling for as adults is running over this group of high need young people.

In the struggle for equal rights and marriage equality we are leaving behind, or ignoring, some of the neediest of all. They are teens that are forced to survive in any way they can, whether it be by stealing, robbing, even giving up their bodies for sexual favors. Anything to survive all because nobody wants them.

In New York City, nearly 4,000 young people are homeless every night — many of them gay. Based upon statistics that's a potential 1,600 LGBT teens that have been kicked out or left the safety of their homes because they are gay, 24 hours of the day, 7 days of the week, 52 weeks a year. As if that wasn't shocking enough, a greater percentage of them are beaten by bullies and gay bashers and left to die in the street, victims of a society that chooses to ignore its most vulnerable in favor of material things and money. Even worse, our society encourages the bullying openly. Shame on us as parents, shame on our society, and shame on those who cut social programs in favor of budget shortfalls caused, in part, by excessive waste and greed among the politicians who are supposed to enact legislation to protect our children.

This holiday season ask yourself,  what am I doing to encourage this, or help stop it?

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