Click to reach the rest of the participants, only please read a bit first. There’s another link for you convenience, at the bottom of the post.
I think we’d all agree that one of the basic human requirements for existence is to have a safe, secure and comfortable home. Unfortunately, for many LGBT teens, coming out, being true to themselves, being honest with their families, puts an end to secure comfort and sees them at best couch hopping and, at worst, homeless. So many children suffer the cruellest rejection by the very people upon whom they should be able to rely. My post today is in support of the Albert Kennedy Trust – a British organisation that provides accommodation for LGBT teens who have nowhere else to go. The figures I am going to quote below are about the same as in the UK but come from a US website.
That’s pretty disturbing right there. How about this one:
Either way you look at it, to be homeless is a horrible risk for a young person or for a child:
320,000 to 400,000: A conservative estimate of the number of gay and transgender youth facing homelessness each year.
14.4: The average age that lesbian and gay youth in New York become homeless.
13.5: The average age that transgender youth in New York become homeless.
The Albert Kennedy Trust has set up the Give 15 organisation to provide the support a child needs when it is needed. This can be anything from counselling and advice to a room for the night or a room in a safe house as a long term home.
Click here to get to the Give 15 page and see all the ways you can help. If you don’t want to do that, comment below with your email address. At the end of the blog I’ll pick a name and make a donation on to AKT his or her behalf that will be enough to get a young person off the street for the night.
If you don’t live in the UK there will be similar organisations local to you. Check out the excellent Youth Project, if you live in Canada, or how about The Trevor Project? The author Brandon Shire has made a comprehensive list of organisations to support lesbian, gay, transgender and transexual youth which may be found here. Thanks to Brandon for allowing me to post the link. I understand that soon the list will be even more comprehensive.
I know that books are the usual prizes so if in addition to the donation on your behalf you would like a copy of Alike As Two Bees [mild M/M romance set in Ancient Greece] or On A Lee Shore [Action adventure with pirates and a little bit of gay romance] please say “Greeks” or “Pirates” and I’ll send whichever to the winner as well. Don’t forget to add your email address to your comment.
Elin Gregory 
Excellent post and a great organization. Any readers wishing to help me build the list of LGBT youth orgs can contact me via my website.
Thanks Brandon. I’ve cross posted to LJ too with a request for suggestions.
Informative, interesting and sad. Thank you, Elin for making others aware of these very sobering statistics.
Thirteen!! I’m horrified.
I believe someone mentioned this group last year. When I volunteered in a aids committee I met many people who were kicked out of their home or had to eat a holiday dinner in the kitchen away from the family. I’m not a parent myself so really do not understand how someone can treat their own child with abuse, both physical and emotional and then kick them out of the house. Had more people had stable home lives, many would not have contracted HIV, become mentally challenged or homeless
Thank goodness for people like AKT. But it is tragic that they are necessary
When I was on jury duty a few months ago, one of my fellow jurors was young gay man who was working with his partner to get their home ready to house a homeless LGBTQ teen. There’s an organization in Tacoma, WA that helps youths who have been kicked out due to their sexuality find temporary housing, preferably with other queer persons who can be positive role models. I thought what he was doing was so, so neat. They were also getting ready to adopt. I wanted to give him a hug so badly.
You should have. He would have apprciated it and you would have also
I bet you did. The guy is a star.
You should have. He would have apprciated it and you would have also
😀 we’ve got an echo in here.
As one of the organizers of the HAHAT, I want to thank you participating. I enjoyed your post, Elin, and will be clicking that Give 15 button.
Hugs
K-lee
Thanks for commenting K-Lee. UK Meet supports AKT too. It’ll be interesting to see how much we can raise this year.
Thank you so much for this post. I have never understood why any parent would throw their child away like so much garbage because of their sexuality. It makes me so angry. This is not acceptable in any stretch of the imagination.
Thank you for the links that will lead us to places we can help.
Thanks for commenting, Pomma.
I highlighted The Trevor Project in my HAHAT post, so I’m happy to find out about the UK equivalent. Those are disturbing stats, especially the one about how homeless youth have been sexually assaulted. I hate to hear about kids being sexually assaulted, no matter their orientation. I’m glad there are organizations out there to help get them away from those dangers. I’m also glad that they will be getting some donations as a result of this hop. 🙂
I’m glad they are there, but I’m so sorry that they are needed.
I’m hoping to do an interview with someone from the Albert Kennedy Trust for Bi Community News. If it works out, I should have a few more UK stats for you.
That would be cool. Let us know when the interview is live won’t you 🙂
It’ll be in the print version first, but I’ll see what I can do.
Those figures are quite alarming. My LGBT child is not homeless.
Very alarming! Especially the ages.
This really is an important issue that I am glad you talked about in your post. Thank you for sharing.
And I have to go with Pirates.
Thanks for commenting Beth 🙂
Thank you for sharing and spreading awareness. Support Love!!!
Thanks for commenting, Lily.
I admire youths that have the courage to come out, but it’s so sad how many become homeless. I realised I was bisexual when I was 16 but I didn’t publicly come out until last year (just before turning 29).
I’m also really curious about On A Lee Shore. I’m currently working on editing a pirate/time-travel novel with a lesbian couple so I’d love to check it out!
*hug* I think it’s a brave thing to do whenever one does it.
Pirate time travel with a lesbian couple sounds brilliant. Let me know how you get on and you’ll be welcome to blog space here when you’re promoting it. 🙂
Thanks. I came out in part because I thought it would be easier to talk about that aspect of my novel if I was honest about my sexuality.
Thanks! I’ll be sure to remember that.
Thank you for providing the charts/graphs and other statistic. Thank you for being a voice for LGBT and for spreading awareness.
Those statistics are heartbreaking. How could any mother worthy of the title do that to her child? May they all rot in hell for such inhumane actions. Count me in for Greeks.
First of all: pirates. Always pirates;) Thank you so much for sharing you wonderful post and participating in this amazing hop!
Sad statistics indeed..thankful that I understood when my youngest child came out to me as transgender male. He never had to endure what some of these other precious children have had to go through.
lena.grey.iam@gmail.com
I was a social worker for LGBT youth for 18 years here in the US, and I appreciate your bringing attention to the problems of homelessness and exploitation. You may know the story of the gay couple Emery Hetrick and Damien Martin who created a grassroots organization in the late 70s in response to the abuse and sometimes murder of homeless LGBT teens in NYC – now it’s called the Hetrick Martin Institute. That story inspired me when I graduated college in the 90s, and though I’m no longer a direct care social worker, this is a cause that will always be close to my heart. Thanks for participating in the Hop!
(and I vote “Greeks!”)
Very informative post. I don’t have any children of my own but I couldn’t imagine turning my back on any of my nieces or nephews for any reason.
sstrode at scrtc dot com
Thank you for the post.
peggy1984 at live dot com
Those statistics are sad 😦
Greeks 🙂
Thanks for participating in this great hop!
penumbrareads(at)gmail(dot)com
[…] So the Hop against Homophobia and Transphobia is over for another year. I hope everyone who took part had fun. I read some wonderful posts, some entertaining posts, some trgi ones and many many that both educated me and left me food for thought. Thank you all the authors, publishers and bloggers who made the event such a success. […]