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Lgbt youth homelessness essay
Lgbt youth homelessness essay
Causes and effects of homophobia
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Rudy Estrada and Rob Woronoff wrote of the following statement made by an adolescent during the 2002 Regional Listening Forum for LGBTQ youth:
I realized that being gay is not my problem. It’s their problem. I see it as a social disease. I try not to get involved in negative communities. But I do try to teach them. I’d rather teach them than ignore them. Otherwise, the ignorance will continue and nothing will ever be done about it. (380)
Ignorance is the root of nearly all tribulations surrounding the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning community. Education is a way to eradicate the ignorance. It is also the government’s responsibility to assist the LGBTQ community. In order to combat homelessness, parental abandonment, and social discrimination prevalent in the lives of American LGBTQ youth, the federal government should fund programs tailored to raise public awareness of the plight of these individuals.
According to the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, gay means one who desires someone of his/her same sex, lesbian being the female-specific form (“Gay”). Bisexual is one who desires people of both his/her own and the opposite gender (“Bisexual”). Transgender describes an individual that changed his/her gender (“Transgender”). Questioning stands for individuals who know they are not heterosexual but cannot label themselves as one orientation (“Questioning”). Males and females suffer the unnecessary consequences of their choosing to reveal their sexuality. Ascension from juvenility to adulthood is obstacle-ridden for these individuals.
One of the most significant obstacles is the rate of homelessness among LGBTQ individuals in their teenage years. Homelessness, as defined by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistan...
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...uth. Child Welfare League of America, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
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“McKinney-Vento Act.” McKinney-Vento Act. National Coalition for the Homeless, June 2006. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
"Mission, Vision, and Values." One Heartland. One Heartland, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
"Overview of Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997." Nebraska Government. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
"Preventing Youth Hate Crime." Justice.gov. U.S. Department of Education, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
"Questioning." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random. 27 Mar. 2014.
"Transgender." Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random. 27 Mar. 2014.
"Transition to Adulthood." Transition to Adulthood | FindYouthInfo. Find Youth Info, 18 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Mar. 2014.
Mercer, L. R. & Berger, R. M. (1989). Social service needs of lesbian and gay adolescents. Adolescent Sexuality: New Challenges for Social Workers. Haworth Press.
There is arguably no group that has faced more discrimination in modern society than queer people of color. Although often pushed together into a single minority category, these individuals actually embrace multiple racial and sexual identities. However, they suffer from oppression for being a part of both the ethnic minority and queer communities. As a result, members are abused, harassed, and deprived of equal civil rights in social and economic conditions (Gossett). In response to the multiple levels of discrimination they face in today’s society, queer people of color have turned to the establishment and active participation of support organizations, resources, and policies to advocate for overall equality.
In the United States there are approximately 397,000 children in out-of home care, within the last year there was about 640,000 children which spent at least some time in out-of-home care. More than 58,000 children living in foster care have had their biological parental rights permanently terminated (Children’s Rights, 2014). Due to the rising number of children in foster care and the growing concerns of the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families, the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 was signed into law. On November 19, 1997, President Bill Clinton signed the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, to improve the safety of children, to promote adoption and other permanent homes for children who need them, and to support families (Child Welfare League of America). The Adoption and Safe Families Act also promotes adoption by offering incentive payments for States. During the FY of 1999-2003 the payment to states which had exceeded the average number of adoptions received $20 million (Child Welfare League of America). The ASFA improved the existing federal child welfare law to require that the child’s health and safety be a “paramount” concern in any efforts made by the state to preserve or reunify the child’s family, and to provide new assurances that children in foster care are safe (Shuman, 2004).
Tori, DeAngelis. "New data on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Mental Health." www.apa.org/monitor/feb02/newdata.aspx . N.p., 12 february 2002. Web. 9 Apr 2014.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2013). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender health. Retrieved from http://healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview.aspx?topicid=25
The perspectives from transgender youth is critically missing in many discussion, research, intervention and implementation strategies. Transgender youth, are misunderstood, misrepresented and excluded from conversations, decision making, and policy execution when in actuality they should be involved. Shelton & Bond (2017) elucidates that although there is a growing body of research that examines LGBTQ youth homelessness, gaps in knowledge about the specific experiences of transgender and gender-expansive homeless youth remain. Studies focus largely on transgender youth in the context of the methods and measures in studies. Hence, including transgender youth within research on sexual minorities, rather than allowing them a distinct category of inquiry, can replicate the common misreading of transgender people as
Stolley, K.S. (1993). Statistics on adoption in the United States. The Future of Children: Adoption, 3(1), 26-42
In recent years, same-sex relationships have become more encompassing in US society. State legislation is changing such as accepting gay marriages, enforcing anti-discrimination laws, and legal gay adoptions; the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community is becoming public. Gay-headed families, like heterosexuals, are diverse and varying in different forms. Whether a created family is from previous heterosexual relationships, artificial insemination, or adoption, it deserves the same legal rights heterosexual families enjoy. Full adoption rights needs to be legalized in all states to provide a stable family life for children because sexual orientation does not determine parenting skills, children placed with homosexual parents have better well-being than those in foster care, and there are thousands of children waiting for good homes.
Ways to where a lack of resources of LGBT to be an issue would be: LGBT youth experience homelessness, 50 % of gay teens encounter a negative reaction from their parents, Gay, bisexual and transgender males of color lack in any support whatsoever, the fear of LGBT individuals to their self-identity, current laws and social service guidelines tend to not allow for someone who is LGBT to have effective prevention and intervention to help educate them. Also, t...
With every coming year, a new set of laws is brought to the American people to vote on what they deem is fit for society to live by. Despite a rich history of blocking gay rights, on June 26th, 2015, same sex marriage was in all fifty states, bringing great controversy, but also great joy. Within the last twenty years, the LGBT+ community has seen great strides socially and have seen great changes at a federal level. However, these changes didn’t occur overnight. The LGBT+ community has challenged the societal perception of those that fall beyond the heterosexual cisgender realm through movements and the work of inspirational leaders. The resistance to these changes can be traced back to the five institutes, and how they related to the 1950s
Countless organizations are available with the purpose of serving LGBT people who may be suffering, physically, mentally, or emotionally. One of the many goals of the LGBT community is to celebrate individuality, diversity, and sexuality. The LGBT does serve these needs, as it provides a place where gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people can be apologetically themselves.
Looking back at my childhood, I do not understand how I went so long without realizing the controversy surrounding the LGBT community. Now, although I will never fully understand, I recognize the struggles that some people are forced to go through just to be themselves. Because I grew up in an open-minded household without religion, I am, and have always been, able to form my own opinions about the LGBT community.
While HIV affects Americans from all walks of life, the epidemic continues to disproportionately impact gay and bisexual men, transgender women. According to the CDC, there are over one million Americans currently living with HIV and approximately 50,000 new infections every year. Almost two-thirds of those new infections are among gay and bisexual men. In most states in our country (as well as at the federal level), there are little or no protections against discrimination in employment, housing, and other areas based on sexual orientation and gender identity. For minorities within the LGBT community, racial and other forms of bias compound an already challenging situation. The potential consequences job loss, lack of access to healthcare,
I feel homosexuals go through a lot in society such as not being accepted for who they truly are, not being able to pursue their careers, and not getting the appropriate respect they need. I am acquainted with a couple of people who are in the LGBTQ community (outside of my family), and most of them are afraid to be themselves around non-LGBTQ people. These acquaintances have confided in me people might think the worst of them. On the other hand, some of these acquaintances opinions from other people do not matter to them; however, it is the opinions coming from their family members that matter the most. I have come to believe that if you are not stepping out of your comfort zone, then you are not comfortable with being whom you are. This is how society affects the members of the LGBTQ community. Another key point to this essay is that people who really do not have a problem with homosexuals, let the people around them corrupt their mind to the point where they are not thinking for themselves and witnessing that type of thinking can really take a toll on your moral
Joanna Almeida, Renee M. Johnson, Heather L. Corliss, Beth E. Molnar. Emotional Distress among LGBT Youth: The Influence of Percieved Discrimination Based On Sexual Orientation. 13 March 2014 .