Teen vogue lgbtq homeless youth talk about homelessness
WINTER PARK, Fla. — Nearly a dozen Winter Park Steep School students settled into a classroom, forming a semi-circle around 17-year-old Will Larkins, who sat cross-legged on a desk.
It was the first meeting of the school’s Gender non-conforming Student Union since March, when the group led a school-wide walkout to protest state legislation intended to limit classroom discussion on sexual orientation and gender identity. Critics have dubbed the measure the “Don’t Say Gay” law.
Will, the head of the club, wanted to get a sense of how everyone was feeling.
“For the most part, it was actually really positive,” said Echo Izzo, a 19-year-old senior who was near the front of the group that day.
Though the protest didn’t stop Florida’s governor from signing the bill into rule, to the students who led the event, it was still a triumph. Hundreds of their classmates in this Orlando suburb ended up walking out of school for nearly an hour that day, waving plastic rainbow flags and chanting “We say gay.” Videos of the walkout generated millions of views on TikTok and Twitter.
But not all the students present that morning showed up in support. On the fringes of the crowd, a teenager danced across a rainbow
"These installations are planned to interrupt daily routines and insist attention to this crisis that too often goes unseen,” says Schlaikowski. Courage+ describes the installations as drawing attention to the reality that a bedroom should be a refuge, but that isn’t the case for many Queer teens in Wisconsin.
Teen Vogue talked to Schlaikowski and Coopy, a 17-year aged who has been helped by Courage+’s programs (Coopy's mention is being withheld for privacy). The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Teen Vogue: What makes Courage+ unique in Wisconsin?
Brad Schlaikowski: The average stay in a group dwelling in the articulate of Wisconsin is 38 days. Our average stay right now is over 200 days for our kids. We really focus on operating our facilities under a child-informed mindset and child-informed philosophies. That's something that we truly make that investment in. We requirement to understand how these beautiful children work.
TV: Why is it important to have specific resources for LGBTQ+ homeless youth?
BS: There [are many] group homes in the articulate of Wisconsin. There [are] options for straight kids to go to – but those homes are not a
East Bay Housing Organizations
Happy Self-acceptance Month from the team here at East Bay Housing Organizations!
This Pride Month, We’re giving thanks to the Black and Brown trans women who won us our rights. The first Pride celebration was a riot. In 1969, when police burst into the Stonewall Inn in New York City to conduct yet another raid on Black and Brown trans people simply for existing in public, the community fought back. Two trans women of dye credited with participating in the riot — Marsha B. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera — went on to be leaders in the community, founding a shelter for homeless lgbtq+ and trans youth.
The Homosexual community is deeply impacted by the homelessness crisis. LGBTQ+ people are 120% more likely to encounter some form of homelessness during their life than the general population. And heartbreakingly, the crisis is most severe among youth.
One in four transgender youth will experience homelessness, and the rates of homelessness are even higher in the BIPOC community. The primary reason for Queer youth homelessness is family rejection. Therefore, the right wing’s escalating campaign to eradicate trans people from public life
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