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