ST. PETERSBURG –A collaboration of organizations has been formed to find out how many homeless LGBTQ youth are living in Pinellas County.
Funded by The Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, the LGBTQ+ Homeless Youth Project is conducting research to help better serve this community.
“What we’re trying to do is figure out exactly what the service needs are of this community and then go ahead and put together a strategic plan as to who could provide these services,” said Larry Biddle, Project Manager for the LGBTQ+ Homeless Youth Project.
The LGBTQ youth homelessness epidemic is affecting the nation.According to the True Colors Fund, “In America, it is estimated that up to 1.6 million youth are homeless each year and that up to 40 percent of them identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). Yet, LGBT youth make up just 7 percent of the general youth population.”
True Colors Fund, co-founded by Cyndi Lauper, is an organization based in New York that is working to end homelessness among LGBTQ youth. Its members are teaming up with organizations in St. Petersburg to bring awareness to Pinellas County.
“We need a place that’s 24/7 for kids and the community to know it’s the first stop for these kids who get thrown out of their house,” said Biddle.
Family Resources Inc. is one of the organizations with plans to address the issue. Located in St. Petersburg, it provides shelters, transitional living programs, counseling, community education, street outreach and after-school programs. Family Resources Inc. currently has 12 beds and hundreds of people in need of assistance.
After addressing the needs, The LGBTQ+ Homeless Youth Project must also find out how much these services are going to cost.“We have to raise funds from government, local government and state government to pay for these services because there’s no funding,” Biddle said.
In partnership with Family Resources, Inc. and Your Real Stories, The LGBTQ+ Homeless Youth Project will be hosting Out-of-the-Shadows, an open forum where audience members can watch real stories of LGBTQ homeless youth come to life on stage. The event will take place on March 21 at the Palladium Theatre at 7:00 p.m.
“I want people on the streets, I want signs on the street, I want people to break dishes about this problem,” said Biddle. This event is the first step to guide community member’s attention to the issue.
Actors from the Your Real Stories organization interviewed LGBTQ homeless youth and those fighting for LGBTQ homeless youth. The essence of each story will be transformed into five-minute scripts.
For more information or to get a free ticket to the event visit the Out-of-the-Shadows Eventbrite.
