LGBT
Related: About this forumGay teen kicked out of parents' home directs funds raised online to finance LGBT homeless shelter
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/03/1326819/-Gay-teen-kicked-out-of-parents-home-directs-funds-raised-online-to-finance-LGBT-homeless-shelterLast week, a heartbreaking video surfaced of Daniel Ashley Pierce "coming out" to his family, who went on to disown him and kick Daniel out of their home.
An online fundraiser went viral and within six days, nearly $100,000 has a been raised to help Daniel get on his feet in a new home. Overwhelmed by the support and understanding there are many others in the same predicament, Daniel asked people to stop donating to him and turn their attention to an organization called Lost N'Found, which is renovating a building to serve as a homeless shelter for LGBT youth. Thus far, the organization has received roughly $10,000 from his post and plans to open in spring of 2015:
littlemissmartypants
(22,656 posts)LiberalAndProud
(12,799 posts)What an astounding young man!
Live and Learn
(12,769 posts)BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)Helen Borg
(3,963 posts)...
Skittles
(153,160 posts)church crap
TBF
(32,060 posts)to their kids. I worked in a psychiatric hospital for awhile and saw the effects of the abuse (both their own children & especially foster children). Not pretty at all.
marym625
(17,997 posts)theHandpuppet
(19,964 posts)I'm going to repost a couple of articles for folks who might be unaware of the scope of this problem.
Homelessness among LGBT Youth: A National Concern
This article is a couple of months old now but I wanted to bring this subject up again because it's one I've never seen discussed or explored in the mainstream media. If nothing else we can keep the spotlight on it here.
My partner is a big supporter of The Point Foundation, which provides scholarships to LGBTQ youth. I hope you will keep them in mind for your charitable giving. And please, if you know of a charity that assists homeless LGBTQ youth, let us know how we can help.
Homelessness among LGBT Youth: A National Concern
Author: Child Trends | November 18, 2013
For many of us, in November our minds turn toward plans for Thanksgiving, a holiday likely spent at home, surrounded by family. This scenario is far from the reality for many homeless youth in the United States. November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, reminding us that even as we think about what we are grateful for in our lives, we should consider all the work that needs to be done to improve the welfare of this vulnerable group.
Approximately 1.6 million youths in the U.S. experience homelessness for at least one night each year. Additionally, 550,000 unaccompanied youth under the age of 24 are homeless for a week or longer; about 380,000 of these youth are younger than 18. These numbers demonstrate a great need for responses to short- and long-term homelessness among youth.
One group that is particularly at risk for homelessness is lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. LGBT youth are often homeless because they were rejected by their families, schools, and communities for their sexual orientation or gender identity. In a national survey of homeless centers and agencies that serve youth, it was reported that LGBT youth comprise 40 percent of the clientele served. In fact, one in five transgender people in their 30s report having been homeless at some point in their lives. These numbers show that homelessness among youth who are LGBT is much more than a niche problem; understanding and reducing homelessness among these youth is a crucial part of understanding and reducing homelessness, period.
Besides being at greater risk for homelessness, LGBT youth are more likely to become homeless at younger ages. LGBT youth are also more likely to be sexually assaulted on the streets and in shelters. In fact, in one study, 58 percent of lesbian, gay, or bisexual homeless youth reported having been sexually victimized, compared with 33 percent of heterosexual homeless youth. Gay and lesbian youth who experience homelessness are also more likely to be infected with HIV than heterosexual homeless youth.1
Homeless LGBT youth may be less accepted in shelters, programs, and foster homes. Among homeless transgender adults, 55 percent have reported being harassed by shelter staff; 29 percent have reported being turned away by shelters because of their gender identity; and 22 percent have reported being sexually assaulted by residents or staff. Although these statistics do not directly address what happens to transgender youth at homeless shelters, they paint a grim picture of what these and other LGBT youth might face...
- See more at: http://www.childtrends.org/homelessness-among-lgbt-youth-a-national-concern/#sthash.14uB7YRv.dpuf
This next article was posted by William 769:
Homeless for the Holidays: Witnessing the Lives of Homeless LGBT Youth
This is among the most terrible expressions of homophobia in our time.
As LGBT youth come out at younger ages, thousands are driven from their homes by rejecting families. And in a society that has grown increasingly unwilling to support a safety net for the most vulnerable, they are forced to endure homelessness and destitution.
In New York City the statistics are horrifying. LGBT youth make up 40 percent of the homeless youth population, accounting for 1,600 of NYC's 3,800 homeless youth. And NYC's response is even more horrifying: Only 250 youth shelter beds are provided by the city, forcing many youths to sleep in subways, on park benches, in abandoned buildings and on rooftops. And New York City has more shelter beds for LGBT youths than any other city in the nation.
But statistics don't adequately express the horror of what these youths endure. They don't express the suffering these kids go through; the psychological torment of being rejected, feeling unloved, alone and terrified; or the physical torment of the cold, exposure to the elements, hunger and chronic sleep deprivation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-siciliano/homeless-for-the-holidays-witnessing-the-lives-of-homeless-lgbt-youth_b_2349018.html
This is how they get start their lives.
Tommymac
(7,263 posts)You go boy. Thank the goddess that apple fell so far from that tree of hate.
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)we use the term "bump"
Tommymac
(7,263 posts)dickthegrouch
(3,174 posts)That abusive intolerant tirade he was subjected can't have been the first. He seems to be overcoming it just fine, though.
I'm very proud of you, Daniel.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)From the August 28th dailykos story:
by Steveningen
Trigger Warning: The video below contains severe verbal and physical abuse.
I'm still shaking with anger and revulsion after watching this video recorded by a young man who has come out to his clearly Fundamentalist Christian Family. The young man's (note) stepmother, after telling her stepson that she has known since he was a child that he was gay, chides him for making the "choice" to become gay. The unidentified man assures her that this is not the case while she begins citing biblical teaching to prove that he is wrong.
After telling him that he has to leave his home, things escalate as another woman begins to berate him in earnest, screaming obscenities at him before physically attacking him as the young man screams in fear and shock. As the video concludes, the father weighs in raving mad, calling him a disgrace. Watch this video only if you have a strong constitution.
This video illustrates very clearly the danger that people and organizations that preach anti-gay bigotry pose to our community. Our streets often become home for children who come out in a family such as the one we see in this video. The Williams Institute estimates that 40% of children who end up homeless are LGBT. Further, The Trevor Project reports that LGBT youth are 4 times more likely than the general population to attempt suicide and that suicide is the "2nd leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24." Given the brutality of this five minute clip, it is easy to understand these statistics.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/28/1324875/-Fundamentalist-Christian-love-on-display-when-gay-son-comes-out
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)to me this is unfathomable.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Such a sweet sensitive boy, how anyone could abuse him that way it is indeed unfathomable.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)Good for him and I hope his life gets amazingly beautiful and loving after leaving that madhouse.