RHY ATLANTA
Supporting LGBTQIA+ Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) in the Downtown Atlanta Areas
Who We Are
RHY seeks to provide capacity building through training, seminars, and direct supportive assistance for service providers to ensure that all spaces serving housing unstable youth are safe for LGBTQIA+ youth. Through our street outreach program, we aim to connect with these young individuals and offer them access to resources, services, and information to help them overcome their challenges and achieve their full potential. Ultimately, our organization aims to create a one-stop shop in the heart of Downtown Atlanta where LGBTQ+ youth experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness can access LGBTQ+-affirming services. Upward Mobility and Equity are keystones of distributive justice.
What We Do
RHY performs consistent community asset mapping and review to compile lists of LGBTQ+ safe services for youth experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. Partnering with a variety of community organizations and stakeholders in Downtown Atlanta, RHY also performs weekly street outreach efforts to connect with youth living on the streets. In addition, RHY provides free-of-cost trainings to local organizations interested in training staff who interact with LGBTQ+ clients.
Why We Do It
When experiencing homelessness, youth are more likely to encounter a wide range of experiences such as mental health issues, substance abuse, criminal activity, the juvenile system, sexual assault, victimization, survival sex, unsafe or unprotected sex leading to pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases, difficulty completing a high school degree, difficulty pursuing post-secondary education, and more (National Network for Youth, 2021; The Trevor Project, 2022). According to the most recent Point-in-Time (PIT) national estimates from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the total number of unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness in shelters and on the streets was 34,703 in 2023, reflecting a 15% increase from the previous year. However, RHY acknowledges that certain groups within the youth population are particularly vulnerable to homelessness, such as those who identify as LGBTQ+, who face additional challenges and risks.
In a recent study conducted by The Trevor Project (2022), 28% of LGBTQ+ youth surveyed had experienced housing insecurity or homelessness, and were two to four times more likely to report mental health issues like anxiety, suicide, and depression than LGBTQ+ youth with stable housing (The Trevor Project, 2022; The Trevor Project 2021). Therefore, service providers and social work practitioners working with unhoused populations need to place increased focus on implementing inclusive practices aimed at creating safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth and understand how experiences in adolescence may impact the life circumstances of LGBTQ+ youth throughout the lifespan.
A dual movement of change needs to be enacted: current programs providing homelessness services need to engage in LGBTQ+ cultural humility training and programs aimed specifically at providing inclusive services to LGBTQ+ youth need to be implemented with greater frequency. RHY recognizes this duality and aims toward working to build inclusive spaces for LGBTQ+ youth while simultaneously providing currently existing services the training needed to become a safe space for youth of all sexual or gender identities.
References
Ecker, J. (2016) Queer, young, and homeless: A review of the literature, Child & Youth Services, 37:4, 325-361, DOI: 10.1080/0145935X.2016.1151781
Ecker, J. Aubry. T. & Sylvestre, J. (2019) A Review of the Literature on LGBTQ Adults Who Experience Homelessness, Journal of Homosexuality, 66:3, 297-323, DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2017.1413277
Maccio, E. M., & Ferguson, K. M. (2016). Services to LGBTQ runaway and homeless youth: Gaps and recommendations. Children and Youth Services Review, 63, 47-57.
National Network for Youth. (2021). Consequences of youth homelessness: A national network for youth resource. Retrieved from https://www.nn4youth.org/wp-content/uploads/Issue-Brief_Consequences-of-Youth-Homelessness.pdf
Prock, K. A., & Kennedy, A. C. (2017). Federally-funded transitional living programs and services for LGBTQ-identified homeless youth: A profile in unmet need. Children and Youth Services Review, 83, 17–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.10.023
Shelton, J., Poirier, J. M., Wheeler, C., & Abramovich, A. (2018). Reversing Erasure of Youth and Young Adults Who are LGBTQ and Access Homelessness Services: Asking about Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Pronouns. Child Welfare, 96(2), 1–28.
The Trevor Project. (2021). National survey on LGBTQ youth mental health. Retrieved from https://www.thetrevorproject.org/survey-2021/?section=Introduction
The Trevor Project. (2022, February 3). Homelessness and housing instability among LGBTQ youth. Retrieved from https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/homelessness-and-housing-instability-among-lgbtq-youth-feb-2022/
US Department of Health & Human Services. (2019, August 12). Youth experiencing homelessness face many challenges. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/homelessness-programs-resources/hpr-resources/youth-experiencing-homelessness
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (2023). The 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2023-ahar-part-1.Pdf
