An estimated 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ. These young people cite running away from home or being rejected by their families because of their LGBTQ status as the two most common reasons for being homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless.
The Human Rights Campaign and its public education arm, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, work to prevent youth homelessness through policy and training and technical assistance for service providers across the U.S.
Federal Advocacy
State & Local Advocacy
- HRC’s State Equality Index
This annual report highlights state-level laws and policies in place to protect homeless LGBTQ youth. - HRC’s Municipal Equality Index
This annual report highlights municipal-level services in place for LGBTQ people experiencing homelessness.
Public Education & Outreach
- All Children - All Families Project
Many LGBTQ young people who are experiencing homelessness, or are at risk of becoming homeless, have had negative experiences with the child welfare system. The HRC Foundation’s All Children - All Families Project works with child welfare agencies -- both public and private -- across the U.S. to assist them in improving services for LGBTQ youth and families.
Resources to Learn More
- For Service Providers
- Working with Homeless LGBTQ Youth, Lambda Legal
- Serving Our Youth 2015: The Needs and Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth Experiencing Homelessness, The Williams Institute, True Colors Fund, The Palette Fund, June 2015
- Toolkit for Practitioners/Researchers Working with LGBTQ Runaway and Homeless Youth, National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections, 2012
- Preventing the Tragedy of LGBT Youth Homelessness, Social Work License Map, 2012
- National Recommended Practices for Serving LGBT Homeless Youth, National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2009
- Street Child: A Memoir by Justin Read Early, 2013. Available on Amazon
- Surviving the Streets of New York: Experiences of LGBTQ Youth, YMSM, and YWSW Engaged in Survival Sex, Urban Institute, February 2015
- True Colors Fund’s 40 To None Project
- For Youth