LGBTQ individuals are at such high risk of homelessness that you can't reasonably expect to address homelessness effectively if you aren't helping such individuals make their lives work generally. They need help getting jobs, help finding housing that will accept them, etc.
I did one page about this on the San Diego Homeless Survival Guide. Slightly edited quote from that page:
LGBTQ individuals represent between five and ten percent of the general youth population, yet they make up 15 to 25 percent of the homeless youth population.
...in... communities known to offer support and services to the LGBTQ community... LGBTQ youth represent up to 40 percent of the homeless youth population.
Original Source [PDF]
So, in other words, homeless youth can account for 2 out of every 5 homeless youth in some places. You can potentially nearly halve the incidence of homeless youth in some places by addressing the needs of the LGBTQ community.
More stats, specifically about transgender individuals:
...90% of trans individuals experienced harassment on the job. More than 77% hid their identity, delayed their transition and/or quit their job because of such issues and the unemployment rate among transgender individuals is three times the national average in the US.
Source
That second quote is from a page on a new site that I recently started in part because I want to have a separate resource for LGBTQ individuals. It needs to be a general resource, not a homeless specific resource.
These are people who need help simply making their lives work. Period.
Among other things, the LGBTQ community tends to suffer from high unemployment rates, plus high rates of underemployment. If you can't support yourself financially due to prejudice, this is a very serious problem that directly promotes homelessness.
Some years ago, I was supportive of a trans youth. I encouraged this individual to leave an abusive situation. In part due to my support, they only spent a few days homeless under circumstances that could be described as "moving to a new city" if they desired to white wash it.
So I started The Genevieve Files to try to document some best practices as I understand it based on the months that I was involved in helping this troubled youth. (As I write this page, that site is currently really small.)
If homelessness is an issue that concerns you, here are some concrete things you can do to help reduce the incidence of homelessness:
I did one page about this on the San Diego Homeless Survival Guide. Slightly edited quote from that page:
LGBTQ individuals represent between five and ten percent of the general youth population, yet they make up 15 to 25 percent of the homeless youth population.
...in... communities known to offer support and services to the LGBTQ community... LGBTQ youth represent up to 40 percent of the homeless youth population.
Original Source [PDF]
So, in other words, homeless youth can account for 2 out of every 5 homeless youth in some places. You can potentially nearly halve the incidence of homeless youth in some places by addressing the needs of the LGBTQ community.
More stats, specifically about transgender individuals:
...90% of trans individuals experienced harassment on the job. More than 77% hid their identity, delayed their transition and/or quit their job because of such issues and the unemployment rate among transgender individuals is three times the national average in the US.
Source
That second quote is from a page on a new site that I recently started in part because I want to have a separate resource for LGBTQ individuals. It needs to be a general resource, not a homeless specific resource.
These are people who need help simply making their lives work. Period.
Among other things, the LGBTQ community tends to suffer from high unemployment rates, plus high rates of underemployment. If you can't support yourself financially due to prejudice, this is a very serious problem that directly promotes homelessness.
Some years ago, I was supportive of a trans youth. I encouraged this individual to leave an abusive situation. In part due to my support, they only spent a few days homeless under circumstances that could be described as "moving to a new city" if they desired to white wash it.
So I started The Genevieve Files to try to document some best practices as I understand it based on the months that I was involved in helping this troubled youth. (As I write this page, that site is currently really small.)
If homelessness is an issue that concerns you, here are some concrete things you can do to help reduce the incidence of homelessness:
- Support LGBTQ organizations, either locally or nationally/internationally.
- Hire LGBTQ individuals and make sure their work conditions do not constitute a hostile environment. (Remote work can be a godsend for people with special needs, including the LGBTQ community.)
- Help provide or support the creation of housing that is safe and welcoming for LGBTQ individuals.