The issue of homeless and displaced gay teens has been one of the most heartbreaking and persistent problems facing the community for far too long, and unfortunately their struggles are ongoing. In 2009, the National Coalition for the Homeless reported that a full 20% of homeless children and teens identified as LGBT, which at least twice the number of LGBT kids in the general population, especially when you take into account the fact that many people don’t come out to themselves or others until post-adolescence or adulthood. The problems these kids are often homeless because of – sexual abuse, neglectful or homophobic foster parents, being disowned by their biological parents – are just as bad.
Many of the problems that face young queer people are present in the story Brian Dixon, who is now 21 and spent much of his youth homeless and openly gay.
Brian was born into an abusive home, which he left at 14 to live with his grandparents, whose care he left and entered the Georgia foster care system in a few months. He earned a G.E.D. and aged out of foster care, to be forced into a series of shelters. When it comes to support for the homelessness, the gaps in care left by federal authority are often filled by religious groups. While their passion for helping is genuine, Christian shelters’ desire to help often also comes with a religiously motivated distaste for homosexuality; Dixon describes being kicked out of a Christian group home despite taking great pains to conceal his sexual orientation. Shelters for adults rather than teens were dangerous as well- Dixon tried them, but describes many as being centers for adult predators to find needy kids to prey on. At his lowest point, Dixon found himself in the place that, unfortunately, many kids on the street do – surviving by prostitution and developing a serious drug addiction, as well as surviving rape.
Today, Dixon is clean and sober and participates in a life skills program that teaches job skills, provides counseling, and offers educational support. He credits his turnaround to God and his strong faith, and also to youth-focused homeless nonprofits like CHRIS Kids and Covenant House. He now has a home all to himself – a one-bedroom apartment in which all the furniture has been generously provided by CHRIS Kids supporters. His apartment community specifically supports gay youth ages 17-24, either as single young adults or young parents, especially those who have been homeless, who have aged out of foster care, or who have emotional or behavioral issues. It’s the only apartment community of its kind in the Southeast.
“There are a couple of organizations doing a lot for the young LGBTQ community [in metro Atlanta] but not nearly enough,” says Covenant House Executive Director Allison Ashe. “Resources for homeless kids in general are scarce here. At Covenant House we have an open intake process at our crisis shelter. We have 15 beds and can overflow to 20 and we’re full every night.”
PHOTO CREDIT: FLICKR USER FRANCO FOLINI
Covenant House and programs like it are the result of enormously dedicated individuals who have given over much of their lives to try to offset the deeply unfair landscape that kids like Brian Dixon face – and at least in the case of Covenant House’s parent organization, they’re 99% privately funded. Summit House, the apartment complex where Dixon is living currently, is federally subsidized – which means that in order to continue receiving money from the government, its residents must swear off drinking and smoking as well as submit to a background check to stay there. While there’s no information on what kind of background information would disqualify someone, it’s ironic that the things that would usually mean failing a background check, like addiction or prostitution, are what these kids are meant to be rescued from. There’s an overwhelming need for the services these organizations provide, and it seems like they rely largely on the support of private foundations and individuals to make it happen.
Obama’s administration has recently publicly committed to making gay teen homelessness an issue; as far as putting their money where their mouth is, they’re putting millions of dollars into a five-year pilot program in LA County meant to increase support for gay homeless teens. Obviously that’s a good thing, but in light of the work that smaller, local organization like the Georgia Covenant House are doing, it seems very high-level compared to the daily reality that these kids live with. Pilot programs, while they do mean change in the moment, are conceptually aimed towards exploring a problem and possible solutions for it. It seems heartbreakingly clear that kids like Brian Dixon and the overwhelmed organizations that have supported him need solutions now.
There are plenty of issues that, in real terms, locally based activist groups are always going to be more effective at addressing than bureaucratic entities. They know what the problem is like on the ground, and don’t need years of surveys and fact-finding to determine what to do about it. But on the other hand, they are almost always working with infinitesimal resources, and strained to the limit of their ability every day.
Obama’s move on this issue is undoubtedly positive, and one of the most insightful recognitions of the problems facing the gay community of any president in history. But in the press release around it, there were only facts and figures; so far there are no personal stories of survival attached to that plan, because it comes from an office, not a shelter.
On the other hand, you have places like the Covenant House and Summit House, which are built entirely out of stories of survival and those who made them possible – but who are struggling every day. Another local organization, run by YouthPride to provide emergency resources around things like eviction or dangerous situations, has had to cease operations because of lack of financial support.
Brian Dixon’s story isn’t over, nor are the stories of the thousands of queer homeless teens in America right now. There are still a million questions to be answered – Dixon has begun the process of becoming a Pentecostal minister, and it remains to be seen where his journey will take him. But one question that should be answered sooner rather than later is: why does there have to be such a wide gulf between state and activist support for the kids that need help most? And what can be done to fix it?
this is a really important story, thank you for telling it
Thank you for talking about this, it’s such an important story and there needs to be more awareness about it.
i had a friend that was in a very similar situation growing up, luckily for her, she managed to buy a car and live in it for some time. she’s almost done getting with her double major and hopes to run a gallery some day
i’m glad the administration is putting this serious issue out there and hope that in time these kids have a safe place to go to. thanks for the post
Thanks for writing this. This is an issue that is far too often invisible in the larger discussion of LGBT issues.
I agree with everyone re: the importance of this issue. Thanks Rachel.
This story hit home. No, not because I was abused, homeless or mistreated as a teen. Because I witnessed several presumably gay teens in my neighborhood. I lived in the West Village near Christopher St. At that time, we had the trannies who would turn tricks on my street. For some reason, I still felt safe and never had a problem with them. I would often bring home something for them to eat or drink and give a friendly wave, only to hear ‘Hey Honey!’ It was the typical village. Over the years, the trannies were run out, further uptown towards the meat packing district, and there was a noticeable growing number of teens. Most of these kids were Latino or African American, but there were several you would consider ‘Caucasian’. They were dealing and doing drugs right on the street in broad daylight. Like several of my neighbors, mostly gay, we were cautious and made calls to the local police after witnessing fights and bottles being broken in front of our door. On one occasion, a couple of teens claimed to be ‘grandsons’ of the elderly man who had lived upstairs and was in the hospital. No, they were squatting and robbing him. This added to our displeasure and judgment of this new ‘group’ of teens in ‘our’ hood. The last straw after several muggings, mostly violent, within a 3 block radius was a stabbing. My neighbors were a young straight couple, both bartended and were on their way home. They were approached by a large group of teens in a convenience store and demanded money. They politely declined and tried to make their way home. They were jumped and kicked by the large group and the guy was stabbed. He was ok, but this was horrific and the actions of the police were useless. They did catch a couple of the teens and said “Oh, the girl that kicked you was forced out of her grandmother’s home because she is gay”. Like that was an excuse for them to attack and stab someone. Needless to say, we were enraged and voiced our opinions openly. I eventually moved, but always thought of how angry those ‘teen thugs’ ruined our precious neighborhood. Now I feel ashamed and realize the magnitude of our lack of action. Instead of complaining to the useless police, we should have called The Center or another organization that could come help these kids.(The program in LA at The Center is a great example of how it could be done right.) Obviously, they had to resort to crime to live. This story is a wake up call for all of us to become more responsible. We don’t know how or why these kids are homeless, how they are treated, who cares for them, but they are coming to the gayest area of NYC for some reason. If someone would show them that there is help, it could make a huge difference.
* sorry for my extra long post!
“This story is a wake up call for all of us to become more responsible. We don’t know how or why these kids are homeless, how they are treated, who cares for them, but they are coming to the gayest area of NYC for some reason. If someone would show them that there is help, it could make a huge difference.”
Indeed. I’m glad that your experiences have led you to re-evaluate the situation and perhaps express a bit more compassion for those “teen thugs”. As Brian Dixon’s story shows, help CAN make a huge difference in the lives of these young people.
Because you know what? We *do* know why a lot of them are homeless–often they’ve been kicked out of or left homes where homophobia, physical and sexual abuse, drug addiction, and neglect were common. We know how they are treated–queer homeless youth are 7 times more likely to be victims of sexual assault than straight homeless youth, but they’re also less likely to report it to the police or shelter staff. We know who cares for them–no one but themselves. Yet programs for LGBTQ homeless youth are sparse and poorly-funded in most parts of the country, if they even exist.
I’m not condoning the violence or muggings by the youth you describe, but I think it helps to view their actions in the context of their lives, how society and their own families have treated them. There’s no excuse for stabbing someone–but there’s also no excuse for beating a child or forcing that child onto the streets because he or she is gay.
I agree. Again, I am ashamed for how we all acted like we ‘owned the neighborhood’ and the majority of us are gay. Living in NYC for over 10 years can harden someone and make you overlook the people who actually need help. No excuses though… I plan on donating to some of the organizations that were in this article. Thankfully, there are people like you who work to help them and educate people like me.
As someone who’s worked with homeless families and youth, I think this is an important moment right now. Demand for services and shelter has skyrocketed, there are fewer resources available in many places because states are stretched so thin, BUT you have a presidential administration that seems sincerely committed to changing some of the damaging policies of the past. The Obama administration memo on LGBTQ homeless youth really is a big deal, but I just hope that more funding will go along with it, with fewer strings attached.
Really great article. It’s sad that these people have to live through that. They don’t deserve it. I can’t even imagine being in that situation. I’m thankful for a homophobic caretaker that at least has the decency not to kick me out onto the streets.
FYI for any one in the NYC area, there is a LGBT homeless youth center called the Ali Forney Center. http://www.aliforneycenter.org/
This is so impprtant gays, lesbians and so on shouldnt be treated differently just cuz there a bit different. We Are All Equal<3