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NPR Reports on LGBT Homeless Youth

A staggering number of LGBT youth face homelessness in an era of limited spending and fewer resources to combat the problem, National Public Radio reported in a Sunday Weekend Edition segment. Depending on the study, somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of homeless youths identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. It's largely because gay youths are more often kicked out of their homes than straight youths. And even if they are not kicked out, they may feel so uncomfortable that they leave.

A staggering number of LGBT youth face homelessness in an era of limited spending and fewer resources to combat the problem, National Public Radio reported in a Sunday Weekend Edition segment.

NPR's Margot Adler:

Depending on the study, somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of homeless youths identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. It's largely because gay youths are more often kicked out of their homes than straight youths. And even if they are not kicked out, they may feel so uncomfortable that they leave.

One LGBT youth advocate said of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who displayed aggressive focus this year on New York marriage equality yet was willing to compromise with the legislature to cut state spending on services for the homeless, "It's tearing my heart in two. Here you have a political leader who is doing so much to help the adults of our community and is taking actions that harm and imperil the most vulnerable youth of our community. What do we do? What is our response to that?"

Listen to Adler’s report and read the accompanying article here.

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