Speaking Out to End LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness

          Nowadays, in any states such as Oregon, on any given night on the streets, there are many LGBTQ+ homeless youth sleeping on sidewalks and weather grates and under bridges and overpasses. Despite the bone-chilling cold of winter and the suffocating summer night, these young people are attempting to survive the hard life. In fact, these youth are already facing heartbreaking marginalization, rejection and trauma solely because of their gender identity and sexual orientation. While we relax in our comfort rooms, somewhere out there, thousands of LGBTQ young people wake up and start the day without knowing where they will sleep tonight and living like.  It is obvious that Persistent levels of family rejection, bullying and discrimination and targeting at school contribute to unconscionable rates of homelessness and housing insecurity.  This discrimination happens a lot in employment, education or housing, making homeless young people in the LGBTQ community dependent on government subsidies.

          The consequences of homelessness, particularly for LGBTQ youth, are far-reaching and can last a lifetime. Homelessness is harmful to mental and physical health and youth who are homeless are at an increased risk for sexual abuse and exploitation, chemical and alcohol dependency, social stigma and discrimination. These youth also experience lower levels of long-term educational attainment—placing them at an even greater disadvantage when they enter the job market. Forced to navigate young adulthood without critical family and social safety nets results in catastrophic consequences for economic stability, educational attainment and life expectancy.

          No LGBTQ youth should be refused taxpayer-funded assistance. No LGBTQ youth should be forced to compromise their identity or their own religious belief in order to receive taxpayer-funded services. Our LGBTQ youth, who are experiencing homelessness, have no one else to speak up for them if we do no choose to take a stand and demand from the federal government that these regulations are rejected and non-discrimination protections be put in place to ensure no young person is turned away from critical, life-saving services funded by taxpayers. Our humanity and integrity are at stake in this fight and we must not remain silent.

Why is it important for the schools to reopen for in-person learning this Fall

Why is it important for the schools to reopen 

for in-person learning this Fall

There are many arguments and conversations between parents and educators going on lately about ways schools should open up in the Fall after ODE posted guidelines for safe reopening. It seems that some parents feel that in-person learning should happen right away, others say that distance learning should be the only option, and then there are parents who decided to homeschool their kids this year. Educators, on the other hand, feel that it is not safe to open up schools for in-person learning at all. School districts are in between all of this and trying to come up with a solution that could work for everyone. In my opinion as a parent, there should be another solution like in-person school is open for kids and staff who are in good health and distance learning for those with high-risk health conditions. The reasons I think this is a feasible solution for the time being are the following:

• Herd immunity is a must for the virus to go away. There are two ways to get there: you get sick from someone else and develop antibodies, or you wait for the vaccine, get sick and develop antibodies. Either way you need to get sick. This is the fact that scares the majority of people. However, if you research this topic, you will find that “most healthy people who become infected with COVID-19 have no symptoms or have mild symptoms” and from the CDC - “For many people, being sick with COVID-19 would be a little bit like having the flu. People can get a fever, cough, or have a hard time taking deep breaths. Most people who have gotten COVID-19 have not gotten very sick. Only a small group of people who get it have had more serious problems.” That means that it’s OK to get sick with this if you have a good immune system. You ARE going to be OK! Then, there is the fun part: according to the new study in New York City “most people do develop antibodies, and that there’s very good correlation between those antibodies and their capability to neutralize virus.” This means that people who have recovered, have developed antibodies that will protect them from getting sick again.

• Social-emotional well being of the children is also extremely important. There are many crucial social-emotional skills that children develop while in school. They develop a sense of independence, new friendships with peers, they learn how to identify and express emotions and needs, self-regulation and empathy. All these and many other skills children are not able to learn in isolation or just by watching videos. If we as a society want to raise responsible, kind, and compassionate children, we need to give them plenty of opportunities to socialize with their peers at school. (Social-emotional Development in School-Age Children)

• Consistent and continuous education is important for the children to be able to graduate successfully in the future. Public school’s distance learning last quarter of last school year was an emergency thing that was developed in the hurry and not thought through. It had multiple flaws like inconsistent lessons, or lessons only covering one and not other subjects, worksheets were sent for practice, but those were not differentiated based on the child’s level, the practice work didn’t need to be returned or it was graded as pass/fail with no feedback. During those months the children lost all the motivation to keep doing online assignments. The parents were OK with it then, since it was an emergency. However, since schools have been shut down, no one has been working on how to organize this distance learning in the Fall. The children don’t need more worksheets and random Zoom meetings. They need consistency and continuous activities to develop skills they will need to eventually graduate. Also, they need accountability, when they know that their effort will be graded by the teacher and will count for something.

In conclusion, I can say with certainty that children need to go back to in-person learning this Fall. It is safe as long as you have a healthy immune system and following health guidelines, it is necessary for continuing education, and it is crucial for children’s social-emotional well being.

Three Easy Actions for Allies of LGBTQ+ Homeless Youth

            When looking at the problems that face LGBT+ youth living among Portland’s homeless population, it’s easy to fall into the trap of only thinking about the problem in the abstract, without taking any concrete steps. For many of us, the challenges that face LGBTQ youth experiencing homeless seem too distant to imagine, or too separate from our own lives to help. One of the most difficult steps to overcome in becoming a valuable ally is to understand that the problems in the homeless community are not separated into “their” community, but that we make up a greater community together. Challenges facing our most vulnerable populations reveal how we care for one another, how we value one another, and the depths to which our common empathy connects us to one another. Three basic actions can give you some agency over how your community treats LGBT+ homeless youth.

            

#1) Respecting Pronouns

Although the difficulty of outside living is immense, studies have shown the decline in human dignity that homelessness entails is one of the most persistent, scarring effects. People will refuse to make eye contact with homeless individuals, resort to rudeness or avoid parts of the street to stay away from homeless individuals. This dehumanization has the impact of eroding people’s identity, fostering a sense of being in conflict with the seemingly uncaring world. But for LGBTQ+ populations, it’s often true that even once someone takes a moment to talk to them that they might be misgendered or assigned a label based on appearances. To LGBTQ+ individuals, the otherization of the homeless hits a second time when the rare person willing to reach across may also hold the same dangerous biases. Although it isn’t a monetary donation or something tangible like food, simply using gender neutral language until knowing someone’s preferred identity can be a huge benefit. Terms like “they” can apply to either a single person or a group, while the word “folks” instead of “guys” or “ladies and gentlemen” implicitly accepts everyone in the group, regardless of identity. GLSEN, a student organization benefitting students in the LGBTQ+ community, has written an excellent pronoun guide here.  

#2) Do Your Work With an Org

As much help as an individual can be on another’s life, it is often the case that an organization can take the same amount of effort and stretch it much farther. Organizations like Transitions Projects, which works to build high-density, subsidized housing to help people transition out of homelessness, aren’t operations that could work with just one person. The specialization, permits, and human resources like legal experts that homeless advocacy groups have can take whatever time or resources you have to contribute and make that donation help more people. Groups like p:ear focus specifically on mentoring homeless youth, while others focus on housing for all and more resources for the homeless. For example, the nonprofit WRAPHOME that encompass millions of people and multiple cities have still been instrumental in reducing hostile actions like sweeps and forced relocation. Whether your expression of allyship manifests in donations or time spent volunteering, these organizations can truly maximize your contribution.

WRAPHOME petitions in Portland to end "sweeps", or forced relocation of homeless camps

#3) Look to the Local

For most people discussing politics and social matters, the idea of policy is often abstracted to decisions made by people high up in legislative positions, who operate out of our grasp. Feeling that the people who decide the laws around us aren’t part of our society alienates us from participating in our own democracy, but it also misses a bigger point: Local politics often has a far bigger impact on the day-to-day than the headline-grabbing federal politicians do. For instance, Portland’s ban on camping near Providence Park, as well as the City Council’s possible ordinance requiring new developments to have space for “rest”, will both impact Portland’s houseless population much more than decisions from either Washington D.C. or Salem. Call on your local representative or senator to prioritize legislation that is inclusive, and hold them publicly accountable when they do not. In some cases, like that of Brett Bigham, a Portland teacher wrongfully fired for his sexual orientation, local action becomes a part of what forces universal change. 

Written by Mark Fogerson

The Most Cost-Effective Way to Help the Homeless is to Give Them Homes

Addressing housing directly is cheaper than relying on cops and emergency rooms.

Building homes FOR the houseless and/or giving homes to the houseless IS a solution to houselessness in Portland.

Portland’s homeless problem really isn't because the city doesn't have enough housing. It's because of much bigger social, systematic, and structural issues. We can only "solve" homelessness by addressing root causes. Most of all, it has been proven by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that An increase in the number of individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness was the sole cause for the national increase in all people experiencing unsheltered homelessness., in simpler terms homelessness is a self-feeding cycle.

Unfortunately, the lack of affordable housing is due to capitalism, and there's not much political will to solve that at the moment. If housing were to be socialized, meaning that everyone just got a decent place to live, no questions asked, and wouldn't ever be forced to move out of it except under certain conditions and then they'd get a house somewhere else, then then America would be a much different place. Some countries have implemented this model with success, like Finland.

By "house" this doesn’t imply everyone has a yard and white picket fence. There are so many different forms of housing that meet so many different needs, we need all of it instead trying to come up with a one-size-fits-all solution.

Think about how everyone in American can dial 911 and get a police car, fire truck, or ambulance to come to their door, in a time of need, and in the case of police & fire, never get a bill. In America, our children can go to public school for free, no matter what, and people can drive down the roads without paying to rent the road, and how we can reasonably trust that buildings will be built safely and water will be safe and street lights will work... we pay for all that with our taxes, and never have to worry about. It doesn't matter if people pay zero taxes or millions in taxes, they all don't have to worry about fire trucks coming, stop lights working, and being able to afford public school the same amount.

What if that were also true for housing? What if just like every kid gets to go to school, every household (which could be a single person, a married couple, family, family with care workers, or an extended multigenerational family, etc.) is entitled to quality decent housing in safe walkable communities with good parks and other amenities?

Just like there are private high schools and gated communities with their own private roads and security, the upper class would remain able to live in private communities if they wish.

Many argue that there is a lack of housing, and to address the homeless issue in Portland more housing needs to be built.

If the supposition is that we have a homelessness problem because rent is too high, so by building more homes the rent will decrease and homeless people will be able to afford them, then that is totally wrong, and hasn’t worked for any other communities' journey to end a homeless crisis.

A city would have to overbuild by a crazy amount for market rents to ever drop down to become affordable for people under certain income thresholds (which includes those on fixed incomes, like Social Security), and regardless of income, there is a not-insignificant subset of houseless folks (disabled, elderly, mental health and addiction issues, etc.) who just will not ever have the life skills to pay rent each month, even if it's a small amount, and they need support services, like mental health care, social work, case management. Supporting these individuals by providing a home is much more cost-effective and stable than leaving police and hospitals to care for them full time.

There are enough empty homes in Portland to house every homeless person, help them get back on their feet, and integrated to become a working member of society.

Written by London Klauer

[Immage Source]

Influencing Government Involvement in LGBTQ+ Youth Houselessness

"DSC_3074" by Smart City Business America
is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

While reading an article from Lesley University, I was struck by the following line,

            “…there are currently no federal programs specifically designed to meet the needs of gay and transgender homeless youth.”

So I started thinking… what if there could be? Anytime we have an idea that we’d like to see adopted by the government, first step is looking around at our local governments to see what kinds of influence we can have. I looked up ways to create legislative change, and found a few nice articles from the U.S. government, the Oregon government, and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Every change starts with an idea. Once we have a solid idea, we can pitch it to a legislator. If we take time to get to know them, we will be spending more time with them which can lead to more listening time. And, if multiple people keep pitching the same idea, it will be harder for the legislator to ignore if it did not immediately grab their attention. You can follow legislation on the internet to see if it’s gaining traction in the form of floor votes.

You can also testify before a committee. Many people do this when it comes to issues they are passionate about. However, the AAFP warns that it can be incredibly time consuming and frustrating, involving postponements with “little prior notice.”

The AAFP also created a list of legislative dos and don’ts that I thought sounded like good advice:

Courtesy of http://www.aafp.org:

Do

·         Be polite.

·         Be factual and concise, giving examples when appropriate.

·         Know the pros and cons of the issue.

·         Personalize your communication.

·         Be a patient advocate.

·         Meet with your local legislators when possible; hopefully, before an issue comes up.

·         Be a good listener.

·         Learn the legislative process.

·         Always answer legislators' questions or requests for more information accurately and promptly. Be truthful if you don't know the answer.

·         Be willing to testify on issues that are important to you and your patients.

Don't

·         Threaten or make demands.

·         Be dictatorial, especially if you don't have a thorough knowledge of the issue.

·         Use form letters.

·         Come across as self-serving.

·         Be impatient. The legislative process can be time-consuming.

Hopefully this information helps if you are passionate about seeing the government create a program that specifically helps LGBT+ homeless youth.

COVID in Houseless Communities

While Oregon is slowly opening up during the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19, we are often thinking about how to keep ourselves safe as well as family and friends. But what about our houseless neighbors? In Portland, the houseless community is being hit hard with the shutdown of many areas that they use from showers to get access to a meal. With the lack of PPE such as masks and hand sanitizer, our most vulnerable communities are at risk of major outbreaks in these communities that are often made up of immunocompromised people.

           We must see that in during a time of a pandemic that we and the ones around us are not the only ones who need help to keep safe. With unreliable areas of shelter and hygiene supplies our community of houseless neighbors needs our help and here are a few organizations that work directly with our houseless neighbors.

It is time to take action! Check out local Portland Organizations who aim to help our houseless friends, you'll be able to help in any way! 

Please check out

HandsOn Greater Portland

https://www.handsonportland.org

Transitions Projects

http://www.tprojects.org/

JOIN

http://joinpdx.org/

https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2020/06/sheltering-in-place-inside-a-portland-homeless-camp-built-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic-video.html

How Hostile Design Negatively Affects the Houseless Population

Hostile design is an umbrella term that encapsulates any architecture that is intended to be used against people, particularly to exclude houseless individuals from specific areas. Some examples of this include crossbars on benches, spikes in underpasses, and awning gaps. Not only are these active choices made against people, they cost additional money that could be funneled into support systems that would help these same people stay off of the streets. It is time to look at these structures as what they are — a symbol devoid of compassion that advocates for reducing accessibility — and invest in support systems and organizations that benefit houseless people instead.

Organizations such as HostileDesign.org work to have these harmful structures removed through several campaigns, including one where anyone can participate. This campaign involves placing stickers on pieces of hostile design in participants' communities, which provide information to those reading and urging that the structure be modified or removed.

For more information on hostile design, and to support having these structures removed, visit the following links:

https://hostiledesign.org/

https://interestingengineering.com/15-examples-anti-homeless-hostile-architecture-that-you-probably-never-noticed-before