Sadly it is all the negative statistics and one of them is in youth homelessness, LGBTQ+ youth lead in the number of them looking for homeless shelters. But sadly there are no beds for them in shelters.
One of the reasons is safety; mixing adults and youth is a bad idea. Also all those working at youth shelters have to have a background check so that creates staffing issues.
One of my concerns is the root cause of youth homelessness… parents who throw out their LGBTQ+ sons and daughters. I don’t think sending the children back home is the answer, the parents don’t love them and it also might be returning the children to a hostile environment. Maybe assessing the parents a child support fee that can be used to support the children, another answer might be more LGBTQ+ foster homes.
Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the signing of the LGBTQ+ legislation; it was a last minute invitation for the bills that CTAC submitted testimony. I went to a signing once before but it was a much smaller group that were invited back then, this time it was a large group… a very large group and I was the only out trans person there (there might have a trans man attending the signing but I think it was more likely he was a gay man).
Two of the three laws were…
Homelessness is high on the list of LGBTQ issuesWhy so few beds for homeless youth?
WTHN
By Kent Pierce
July 9, 2019
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — As new state laws seek to make Connecticut safer and healthier for the LGBTQ community, there is a hardship you might not think about.
Gay and trans youths are much more likely to be homeless than straight young people. Some think more than 40 percent of the young homeless people out there identify as queer or trans. So if the state is looking to improve things for the LGBTQ community, it has to look at the homeless community, too.
“Currently we only have 12 youth specific beds to serve the greater New Haven region,” said outreach case manager Elizabeth Larkin.
Only 12 beds for roughly 800 homeless youth in the greater New Haven area. Larkin deals directly with homeless youth, and says, in New Haven, at least a quarter of the homeless youth identifies as LGBTQ.
One of the reasons is safety; mixing adults and youth is a bad idea. Also all those working at youth shelters have to have a background check so that creates staffing issues.
One of my concerns is the root cause of youth homelessness… parents who throw out their LGBTQ+ sons and daughters. I don’t think sending the children back home is the answer, the parents don’t love them and it also might be returning the children to a hostile environment. Maybe assessing the parents a child support fee that can be used to support the children, another answer might be more LGBTQ+ foster homes.
“LGBTQ youth are much likelier to experience depression, to attempt suicide, to try to self-medicate with drugs and alcohol and they need better supports,” said Larkin.
That is exactly what lawmakers hope happens with the new laws Governor Lamont signed Tuesday.
Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the signing of the LGBTQ+ legislation; it was a last minute invitation for the bills that CTAC submitted testimony. I went to a signing once before but it was a much smaller group that were invited back then, this time it was a large group… a very large group and I was the only out trans person there (there might have a trans man attending the signing but I think it was more likely he was a gay man).
 |
| Taken from Gretchen's FB page |
Three New Laws Bolster Lgbt CommunityThe third bill the governor signed was for allowing minors to get PrEP without parents’ permission.
The Hartford Courant
By Tess Vrbin
July 10, 2019
Hartford – This year’s legislative session was one of the most successful for the LGBTQ community in Connecticut, state Rep. Jeff Currey said Tuesday at a ceremonial bill signing for three provisions he helped champion.
[…]
Ban on ‘gay panic’ defense
Connecticut is one of six states to ban the use of someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity as justification for a defendant’s violent reaction in criminal cases. California, Rhode Island and Illinois already had a ban on the so-called gay panic defense before this year, Nevada banned it in May and New York banned it June 30.
“No person is justified in using force upon another person which would otherwise constitute an offense based solely on the discovery of, knowledge about or potential disclosure of the victim’s actual or perceived sex, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression,” the bill states.
Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said in testimony to the judiciary committee in March that the gay or transgender panic defense has lessened charges and sentences for some perpetrators of violent crimes. “Carried to its logical extreme, a defendant could seek to use irrational bigotry as a defense against charges of violence directed at any racial, ethnic or religious group,” he said.
LGBTQ health network
Connecticut is the first state to statutorily create an LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network, Currey said. The $43 billion state budget, which Lamont signed last month, includes $250,000 a year for the next two years to fund the network within the state Department of Public Health.
The network and the DPH will conduct an analysis to identify and meet areas of need for LGBTQ citizens throughout the state, and the DPH will award grants to organizations that help meet those needs, according to the budget.
No comments:
Post a Comment