“I CAN’T SAY WHO I AM UNLESS
YOU AGREE I’M REAL.”
Amiri Baraka
from the 1971 poem
Numbers, Letter
THE ISSUE
What is the most frequently cited
reason for LGBTQ youth
homelessness?
• a. Aging out of foster care
• b. Lack of affordable housing options
• c. Identity based family rejection
Top Five Reasons why LGBT Youth are
Homeless or At-Risk of Becoming Homeless
Ran away because of family
rejection of sexual orientation…
46%
Forced out by parents because
of sexual orientation or…
43%
Physical, emotional, or sexual
abuse at home
Aged out of the foster care
system
Financial or emotional neglect
from family
32%
17%
14%
Majority of LGBT Homeless Youth
Get Help from Non-LGBT Specific Providers
LGBT
Specific
24%
Mainstream
76%
Percent of Service Providers
who Served any LGBT Clients, Over Time
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
Ten Years Ago
LGB
Five Years Ago
In the Past Year
TRANSGENDER
LGBT YOUTH:
FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS
DROP-IN &
SHELTER
• Youth Fear Unsafe
Programs
• Family & Community
Rejection
TRANSITIONAL
LIVING
PROGRAM
• Employment
Barriers
• Non-Affirming
Policies/Procedures
PERMANENCE
• Lacking Safety Net
• Lacking Permanent
Connections
• Lacking Adequate
income
INITIATIVE
BACKGROUND
Initiative Background
• Rationale
• Overarching purpose
o Prevent homelessness for LGBTQ youth at risk of becoming
homeless
o Intervene early to quickly end homelessness for LGBTQ youth
• Key objectives
1. Facilitate local collaboration and plan development and
implementation
2. Inform national strategies to prevent LGBTQ youth
homelessness
3. Facilitate use of USICH Framework to End Youth
Homelessness and community focus on USICH core outcome
areas
Initiative Background
• Grounded in collaboration among partners
• Federal agencies:
o U.S. Departments of Education, Health and Human Services,
Housing and Urban Development (lead agency), Justice
o U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
• Non-federal partner: True Colors Fund
• Technical assistance: American Institutes for Research, National
Center on Family Homelessness (lead); Center for Social
Innovation; HomeBase, The Center for Common Concerns
• Expectations around funding
• Timing
• Importance of sharing results
Initiative Progress
• 12 communities considered and ranked; 2 selected based
on criteria such as strength of local continuum of care:
o Hamilton County (Cincinnati), Ohio
o Harris County (Houston), Texas
• 6-month collaborative local strategic planning process
completed
o Local lead agencies
o Steering committees and subcommittees established
o Assessment of strengths and needs
o Grounded in core outcomes including stable housing, permanent
connections, education and employment, and well-being
• Process for completing plans: plan organization
Organization of Planning Teams
Cincinnati
• Awareness Building &
•
•
•
•
•
Cultural Competence
Child Welfare
Housing & Transportation
Options
Organizational Policy &
Data Practices
Practical Living/Life Skills
Social & Emotional
Support
Houston
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Advocacy
Child Welfare
Criminal Justice
Education & Training
Employment
Funders
Primary & Behavioral Health
Care
Research & Data
Schools
Shelter & Housing
Resource List
Intended Outcomes and Impacts
• Stable Housing
• Permanent Connections
• Education and Employment
• Well-being
• Systems Change
Strategies & Activities
Cincinnati
• Awareness Building &
•
•
•
•
•
Cultural Competence
Child Welfare
Housing & Transportation
Options
Organizational Policy &
Data Practices
Practical Living/Life Skills
Social & Emotional
Support
Houston
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Advocacy
Child Welfare
Criminal Justice
Education & Training
Employment
Funders
Primary & Behavioral Health
Care
Research & Data
Schools
Shelter & Housing
Resource List
Early Reflections
1. Follow the initiatives of Cincinnati and Houston
2. Do not reinvent the wheel (work from resources like the
USICH framework)
3. Review available research and data and assess
needs/strengths (e.g., interviews, surveys)
4. Be mindful of trauma and its effects on youth and
families
5. Engage strong local leaders, or those who have the
potential to be so, and develop their capacity further
Early Reflections
6. Develop a shared vision
7. Be strategically collaborative—think about who to
8.
9.
10.
11.
engage, when, why, and how
Engage local philanthropy early on
Assess and measure what works—and how and why
(continuous quality improvement)
Engage youth and families in your planning and
implementation
Be bold—be prepared to learn, adapt, and innovate
Early Reflections
12. Act quickly to address this crisis—there is not time for a
lengthy planning process.
13. The challenge of a geographically large initiative
(county wide).
14. The value of branding.
15. Communications and media engagement.
Next Steps
• Local plan implementation
• Delivery of technical assistance to support local
implementation
• Communications plan implementation
• Evaluation—what we expect to learn
o Documentation of local approaches
o Measurement of change and understanding of successful practices
• Dissemination to support awareness in the field and
replication in other communities
WHY NOW?
• Federal plan to end youth homelessness by 2020
• Runaway and Homeless Youth & Trafficking Prevention
Act
• Youth Inclusion in PIT counts
• National visibility and support
• True Colors Fund’s Forty to None Project
• The National Coalition for Homeless Youth
COMMUNITY INNOVATIONS
• Nashville, TN
o LaunchPad
• Miami, FL
• Collective Impact community planning
• iCount
• Seattle/King County
• Count us in (Youth Count)
• Ruth Ellis Center
• Child Welfare, RHY, Family intervention (similar to FTIP)