Better Together: Trauma Informed Practices for LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness
Major
Public Health
Anticipated Graduation Year
2022
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
Over the past 50 years, the United States has made immense progress in the movement for LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, etc.) civil rights. With the legalization of same-sex marriage and improved management of the HIV/AIDS crisis, many believe widespread homophobia to be a thing of the past. Yet if this is the case, why are we seeing more homeless youth who identify as LGBTQ+ than any other young demographic? A 2016 study from the University of Chicago found that youth age 12-24 who identify as LGBTQ+ are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their cisgender, heterosexual peers. This statistic is higher for nonwhite LGBTQ+ youth, demonstrating the intersectionality of this issue. This study examines the risk factors driving these higher rates of homelessness, and to identify ways in which care for youth experiencing homelessness can be tailored to the LGBTQ+ community. Homelessness at its core is a public health issue, and to continue to allow LGBTQ+ youth to suffer from it stands in stark contrast with the image of progress that the United States prides itself on.
Community Partners
Illinois Collaboration on Youth, Howard Brown Health Center, The Center on Halsted, Project Oz
Supported By
Illinois Collaboration on Youth
Streaming Media
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Better Together: Trauma Informed Practices for LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness
Over the past 50 years, the United States has made immense progress in the movement for LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, etc.) civil rights. With the legalization of same-sex marriage and improved management of the HIV/AIDS crisis, many believe widespread homophobia to be a thing of the past. Yet if this is the case, why are we seeing more homeless youth who identify as LGBTQ+ than any other young demographic? A 2016 study from the University of Chicago found that youth age 12-24 who identify as LGBTQ+ are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their cisgender, heterosexual peers. This statistic is higher for nonwhite LGBTQ+ youth, demonstrating the intersectionality of this issue. This study examines the risk factors driving these higher rates of homelessness, and to identify ways in which care for youth experiencing homelessness can be tailored to the LGBTQ+ community. Homelessness at its core is a public health issue, and to continue to allow LGBTQ+ youth to suffer from it stands in stark contrast with the image of progress that the United States prides itself on.