Note: In this blog, we use “queer” as an umbrella term to refer to a vast spectrum of identities including people who identify as: bisexual, transgender, lesbian, same-gender-loving, questioning, asexual, gay, non-labeling, and anyone else who does not strictly identify as heterosexual or cisgender.
Photograph by: Christina House / For the Times
Every child deserves a supportive and loving home. But for many queer children and youth, that home is not available. These youth are disproportionately represented among homeless youth in the United States, experiencing extreme rates of violence, discrimination, and poor health while homeless.
1.6 million to 2.8 million: The estimated number of homeless youth in the United States.
20 to 40 percent: The portion of the homeless youth population who are gay or transgender, compared to only 5 to 10 percent of the overall youth population.
320,000 to 400,000: A conservative estimate of the number of gay and transgender youth facing homelessness each year.
The average age of LGBTQ homeless youth? 14.4 for non-heterosexual youth and 13.5 for transgender and gender non-conforming youth.
There are currently no federal programs specifically designed to meet the needs of LGBTQ homeless youth - there are no federal protections and few state laws in place to keep these youth from being discriminated against while accessing federally funded homeless services.
What’s worse is that federal grant awards for homeless youth services are being awarded to providers without mandating that they not discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity. While there are federal protections for LGBTQ individuals when it comes to housing discrimination, this is extremely hard to enforce when dealing with homeless shelters. This leaves youth open to harassment from staff, other residents and allows shelters to turn individuals away based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
In lieu of enforceable federal protections, there are organizations that are dedicated to providing shelter for homeless LGBTQ youth and young adults (18-30)! Some of these organizations have the resources available to offer emergency housing services and transitional living programs - others are simply postings stating “I have a couch you could sleep on for a week.”
You don’t have to have lots of time and money to help out homeless LGBTQ people - just a couch! Or some old clothing. Or a $10 gift card to Kroger. Below are some (primarily local) organizations that are focused on helping those in need - check them out and see if you can offer a helping hand to others!
The Ruth Ellis Center, based out of Detroit, provides residential and drop-in programs for LGBTQ youth. They offer two programs through Ruth’s House: a Semi-independent Living Program is a more structured program with level systems for 12 to 17 year old LGBTQ youth, and a Transitional Living Program which is an up to 18-month independent living residential program for 16-21 year old LGBTQ youth. They’re always looking for donations and volunteers!
The Ozone House, based out of Ypsilanti, has a drop-in center, a Safe Stay program, and the Miller House. The Safe Stay program is available for youth ages 10-17 who need a safe place to stay or a break from conflict at home. Youth stay at Safe Stay for 2-3 weeks and participate in therapy, life skills workshops, educational support, and other recreational activities. The Miller House is available to youth ages 17-20 who do not have a stable or safe home for up to 18 months. To become a resident, youth must attend school and/or be employed, and participate in: case management, life skills training, counseling, and will paying “rent” each month that goes into a savings account that will be turned over to them at the end of their stay.
Unable to volunteer your time but have a couch you’re willing to lend out?
The Transgender Housing Network is a temporary housing network intended to connect trans people in need with safe and supportive places to crash. If you have or are in need of a couch, floor, or spare room, you can submit a postwith any relevant information you’re willing to share and we’ll try and connect you with other couch lenders or surfers near you. This blog is intended to be a safe space in and of itself, as well as connect trans people to physically safe spaces if and when they need them.
Open Homes is a similar resource available for cisgender queer identified folks to find a safe place to stay when they’re struggling with homelessness.
Friday, June 1 - Sunday, June 3, 2012
Detroit
Motor City Pride is a volunteer-driven event celebrating the lives of Michigan’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender residents and their allies. A weekend packed with multiple events including a family picnic, golf outing, commitment ceremony, parade, and beer garden. Motor City Pride culminates as the largest LGBT gathering in Michigan and takes place at Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit.
A summer riverfront festival has open-ended appeal. There is something truly energizing, exciting and empowering about holding Motor City Pride in a location where people work, shop and live. Holding a Pride event in the historic Hart Plaza solidifies the notion of LGBT people as active parts of the larger community.
I was basking in my love of Kate Leth from Kate or Die! and decided to make a short list of my favorite queer comic artists who are on tumblr.
Besides Kate, who often does comics about being queer, including this bisexuality series which has four parts and you should read them all! (click the picture for the link), I am also super into:
Joey Comeau of asofterworld - he also has a great blog about horror movies if you’re into that stuff too.
Gail Simone - who creates for DC comics and had a kind of collection post of LGBTQ creators HERE. You should definitely check out the notes/reblogs on that one.
What about y’all? I know this is only a short list, so do you have any other favorite comic artists/writers who are also on tumblr?
-Jenni
Jenni is a UofM alumna and got her degree in German and Women’s Studies. She is currently being an awesome barista. Her personal tumblr is here and her fancier long-form blog is here.
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I would like to use this blog post to spread a link and comment on the beautiful message in the article “A Wickedly Beautiful Response to NC’s Latest Gay Bashing Minister”
To give a very brief overview of the article - Recently, A pastor in North Carolina horrifically told an audience that LGBT individuals “should be locked up inside an electrified fence until they die out” (Quote of author in this article).
How did the author to this article respond to the pastor? For everyone to make a donation in this pastor’s name to an LGBTQQI oriented charity. Instead of simply being angry at this pastor, the author calls for a non-violent form of resistance through donation.
I believe that this resistance is beautiful. Further, this gives everyone a perfect reason to donate to a favorite organization. A personal favorite of mine? The Trevor Project - but there are so many others! If monetary donations are not plausible, why not donate time and outreach?
Sunny days,
Michael
We have a stack of these in the office right now. Come pick one up today!
For every girl who is tired of acting weak when she is strong, there is a boy tired of appearing strong when he feels vulnerable.
For every boy who is burdened with the constant expectation of knowing everythin of knowing everything, there is a girl tired of people not trusting her intelligence.
For every girl who is tired of being called over-sensitive, there is a boy who fears to be gentle. To weep.
For every boy for whom competition is the only way to prove his masculinity there is a girl who is called unfeminine when she competes.
For every girl who throws out her E-Z Bake oven, there is a boy who wishes to find one.
For every boy struggling not to let advertisting dictate his desires, there is a girl facing the ad industry’s attacks on her self-esteem.
For every girl who takes a step torwards her liberations, there is a boy who finds the way to freedom a little easier.
This is one the most talked about posters in our office! What do you think about it?
Things you can do to eradicate gender (or multiply it exponentially)
- Spend a day in drag
- Write to organizations that call themselves “gay and lesbian” and ask them to change it to “Queer.”
- Think twice before you ask people if their child is a boy or a girl.
- Have a conversation about the gender revolution with a friend while riding on public transportation. Make sure you’re overheard.
- Join the transsexual menace.
- Go to conferences like the Femme Gender Conference in San Francisco, Outwrite in Boston and meet other gender revolutionaries.
- Refer to everyone by the incorrect pronoun.
- Challenge the binary gender paradigm over Thanksgiving dinner.
- Read a good book on gender liberation.
- Organize to get the diagnosis Gender Identity Disorder removed from the DSM IV
- Refuse to check off your sex when filling out forms.
- Write about your experiences with the evolution of your own gender identity.
- Join mainstream lesbian and gay groups and speak up for transgender inclusion.
- Hang out with children and teach them how to cross dress Barbie and GI Joe.
- Talk to a femme dyke about how she experiences power through her gender identity.
- Make art that explores gender.
- Support queer art with your time, talent and money.
- Experiment with new ways to accentuate your queerness using language, dress, movement and, of course, accessories.
Hey readers!
My name is Eva and I’m a new summer volunteer at the Spectrum Center. I’m looking to start an organization at UM for trans*-identified students as well as cis allies, but don’t have the requisite 10 members. The exact function of the group remains to be decided, but it will definitely focus on support, internal discussions, activism, and promoting visibility.
If you’re interested at all, please contact me at kloiber.eva@gmail.com
Thanks!
-Eva
I support trans women
“You may not be welcome at this church, but all people are welcome in this community. Spread love, not hate.”
All squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares. Follow me so far? Good.
While it’s true that some stereotypes may be rooted in more or less accurate observations, as a community we are considerably more aware of the number of inaccurate and negative stereotypes that are used not only to categorize queer people but also to condemn, dismiss, alienate or trivialize us.
Working as a co-faciitator for this year’s Coming Out Group and as the coordinator for Spectrum’s GPS Peer Mentoring Program, almost every student I encountered had questions about stereotypes. A lot of these questions came from queer individuals who were just coming into their identities and either felt like they needed to fit into a stereotype to be gay or felt excluded from the community because they didn’t follow the stereotypes. One femme lesbian expressed concern that she were going to have to dress and act butch upon coming out, and several gay men weren’t looking forward to the thought of having to learn to like shopping and musicals.
Many of the stereotypes these individuals are concerned about are things we’ve been watching on TV and seeing in mainstream media for over a decade. They’ve become ingrained in modern American culture as signs of queerness and anything that doesn’t fit the mold is simply not queer enough.
But, you know what? We can’t tell by looking at someone if they’re queer or from another country or like ice cream (unless they’re holding an ice cream cone or are wearing something that says “I’m ____” on it). Yet, everyone has perceptions or preconceived ideas about what it means to be queer. Many people think they can tell if someone is queer by the way they look, dress, or behave or that someone has to fit into these stereotypes to actually be queer. But not all queer people are white, not all gay men shimmy, not all lesbians have crew cuts, and not all trans* people fall into binary gender roles.
-Cameron
P.S.
How have stereotypes affected you (positively or negatively) as a queer or allied individual?
What can we do as a community (both on and off campus) to combat harmful stereotypes?
