Service providers from across the Midwest gathered Aug. 16 in the DePaul University Loop Student Center for an all-day conference and training session focused on better addressing the needs of homeless LGBT youth.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Homelessness Resource Center and the Howard Brown Health Center presented the event, which was the second stop in a four-city tour that includes visits to New York, Florida and Arizona. Staff from successful programs throughout the United States presented their methodologies and shared ideas.
"The federal government is taking a really active look at the issue of LGBT young people experiencing homelessness," said Joe Hollendoner, chief program officer at Howard Brown. "[It's a] phenomenon across the nation, and the best practices that are developed in places like New York or here in Chicago should be adapted to other communities as well."
It's estimated that as many as 1.6 million unaccompanied youth (ages 12 to 17) experience homelessness in the United States each year, according to data from SAMHSA. Of these, an estimated 20 to 40 percent identify as LGBT. Many of these young people are disowned when they come out, others leave abusive homes or foster care, and still others seek out more accepting environments.
Understanding the diversity of the homeless queer population is the key to helping the youth, said speaker Wayne Centrone, president and executive director of Health Bridges International. "The numbers are made up of people, and people have complex lives. Homelessness is complex in and of itself. It's not just about housing."
Jama Shelton, director of housing at the Ali Forney Center (New York City's LGBT-specific homeless youth shelter), said trauma must also be addressed. "All LGBTQ youth are exposed to trauma and violence by the very nature of their identity in this society," she said. "To exist within that context is traumatic, and the experience of homelessness is also traumatic."
Many LGBT youth are re-traumatized when they seek services, Shelton said. Common problems youth face include: having to educate providers about their identities, encountering close-minded staff and worrying about gendered bathroom situations.
Healthcare providers have traditionally believed that brain development stops during adolescence, Shelton said. New research, however, suggests that brain development continues well into one's 30s. Those who are traumatized often become wired differently, she said. Repeated trauma can negatively impact how youth express emotions, engage in interpersonal relationships and view their own self-worth.
Employing strength-based practices was a popular solution presented at the conference, titled "Creating Communities for Change: Best Practices for Serving LGBTQI2-S Homeless Youth". In a strength-based model, providers focus on a client's talents or successes rather than highlight what needs to be fixed.
"[It] requires a shift in the framework," Shelton said. "You don't look at a situation and say, 'What's wrong here? What's the problem here?' Rather, you look and say, 'What's going right?' And that's a completely different idea than what I was taught… but all people have a capacity for growth and change."
Throughout the day, audience members were asked to engage in brainstorming activities. Pairs teamed up to practice strength-focused dialogue. Groups analyzed transcripts of client-provider conversations to suggest improvements. The entire room practiced using slang and profanities to become more accustomed to what they might hear working with youth.
Local organizations represented in the audience included: the Center on Halsted, Amigas Latinas, UCAN-LGBTQ Home Host Program, Chicago Public Schools, The CORE Center, Thresholds, the Heartland Alliance and the Cook Country Health and Hospital System.
"Often times what happens in social services, is that services or programs or organizations get very siloed," Hollendoner said. "You have X organization here that does homeless work. You have Y organization here that does LGBT work. And here's another organization that does youth work. And there have never really been opportunities for intersection. What's really exciting is coalescing all these different service providers together to say, 'Hey, we all have a stake in this issue, and we all are part of the solution with it."
Hollendoner said he was excited to see the reactions and ideas presented during the conference, but hopes homelessness prevention receives more attention in the future.
"We don't really look at what causes homelessness among LGBT youth, and we don't address that," he said. "Homelessness prevention is a very nuanced conversation, and it's one that needs to be placed higher on our agenda right now. The issue of homelessness feels so daunting that we think about it from a treatment modality. We don't think about it from a prevention stance."
