The National
Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and
Queer/Questioning Homeless Youth will be convening on Friday
in Washington, D.C., to ask congressional leaders to
help gay homeless children.
According to the
National Alliance to End Homelessness -- a
nonpartisan group working to combat homelessness -- 40
nonprofit directors, civil rights advocates, policy
analysts, and youth advocates will be coming to
Washington to discuss their 2009 goals for reducing gay
youth homelessness. The meeting will take place the same day
the House of Representatives votes on the contentious
$700 billion Wall Street bailout plan.
The 40 leaders
are members of the National Advisory Council on LGBTQ
Homeless Youth, a group created in 2007 to lobby Congress
for appropriation funds for homeless gay youths
-- specifically, funding for housing and
services. Many studies have shown that gay children --
because of issues like homophobia and alienation -- suffer
from homelessness at a much greater rate than their
straight peers. Seven different studies of homeless
youths in the U.S. have concluded that approximately
20% of homeless youth are LGBTQ.
"Unfortunately,
providing housing, shelter, and services for homeless
youth has not been enough of a priority for federal
policymakers," Nan Roman, president of the National
Alliance to End Homelessness, said in a release. "And
before the creation of the National Advisory Council
there was even less awareness of the needs of this
particular subset of LGBTQ homeless youth. I'm glad
that a strong partnership of advocates has finally
united to push the issue of youth homelessness to the
forefront of the new administration and Congress's agenda in
2009."
As of press time,
it wasn't clear which congressional leaders the
homeless advocates would be meeting with. (Neal Broverman,
The Advocate)
