LGBTQ+ Homelessness in the Wake of COVID-19
Home is much more than a physical necessity. It is more than a shelter; it is a space that allows one to feel comfortable, safe, and secure. For many, the COVID-19 pandemic forever changed the meaning of home. While many young LGBTQ+ individuals had previously been able to escape to safe communities outside of the home, some became completely trapped within hateful family environments. Among LGBTQ+ youth about one-third experience parental acceptance, one-third experience parental rejection, and the final third do not disclose their identity until reaching adulthood. Those who experience parental rejection are six times more likely to develop depression. The inability to buffer these hostile home environments with positive outside social interactions during COVID-19 led many LGBTQ+ individuals to make the difficult choice to leave home. Others had no choice but to be forced into homelessness by unsupportive families (Green, Pice-Feeney, & Morrison).
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, LGBTQ+ youth had a more than doubled risk of facing homelessness (Morton, Samuels, Dworsky, & Patel). It has been estimated that between 20 to 40 percent of homeless youth in North America identify as LGBTQ+ but LGBTQ+ people only represent ~7% of the overall youth population. Some of the primary reasons for homelessness among young LGBTQ+ individuals include family rejection, higher rates of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, and experiencing emotional and financial neglect from parents (“Homelessness and Housing”). These conditions force them to turn to shelters and social programs, where they also report more harassment and traumatic experiences than their heterosexual peers. Shelter access is often contingent upon one’s ability to pass as cisgender. In many cases, trans people must choose to either present as the gender they were assigned at birth, or engage in practices to make their transness unrecognizable. Such practices, including wearing highly feminine or masculine clothing, utilizing hormone therapy, or undergoing surgery, are costly and inaccessible to most homeless trans youth. These barriers prevent trans individuals from receiving the same access to shelter and social programs as cisgender people (Vandenburg).
The alternative is to live on the street, where LGBTQ+ youth face higher rates of violence than their heterosexual peers. Facing more hostile environments both in shelters and on the streets, they are more than twice as likely to experience an early death while experiencing homelessness (Morton, Samuels, Dworsky, & Patel).
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent closure of many social support programs left an even greater number of LGBTQ+ youth trapped within unsupportive home environments or facing homelessness. In one survey among homeless LGBTQ+ youth, the majority of individuals reported that since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic their living situations became more unstable. For example, for many participants, couch-surfing was no longer an option, as friends and family became more hesitant to invite them into their homes due to public safety concerns and regulations. The amount of participants living in a public space, vehicle, or empty building increased from ~13% to ~33%. Many youth experienced home environments becoming more threatening, to the point of no longer being viable places to live. Being trapped in constant isolation with emotionally or physically abusive family members, with no social escape, led many to leave home. While ~54 % of homeless LGBTQ+ youth saw living with parents as an option before the pandemic, only ~33% have reported living with parents since. In the time during which their living situations became the most unstable, shelters began closing down or turning people away due to COVID-19 regulations (Abramovich, Pang, Moss, Logie, Chaiton, & Kidd) .
Without a safe home environment to rely upon, and because of social stigmas surrounding their sexual orientations/ gender identities, LGBTQ+ homeless youth are at a greater risk of facing mental health issues. Being forced onto the streets can worsen traumas that already exist from previous abuse. About 65% face mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD, and are at a 62% risk of a suicide attempt in comparison to 29% of heterosexual homeless youth. These elevated health risks become even more severe when compounded by factors brought on by COVID-19 such as isolation, less access to social services, higher unemployment, and worsened relationships with family (Leighton).
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact homeless LGBTQ+ youth. Many shelters remain closed, understaffed, or undersupplied, and individuals still do not have access to the health services they require. Beyond not having physical needs met, the impact of emotional and mental struggles faced because of pandemic induced isolation, increasingly hostile home situations, and harassment or mistreatment during periods of homelessness have long term impacts that must not be understated. As the holidays draw near, we approach a season which, for many LGBTQ+ individuals, underlines the absence of a stable and accepting family environment. During this time, it is essential to remember the hundreds of thousands of young people that are denied physical security and emotional support because of their gender and sexual identities and to work within our communities to meet these unmet needs.
Sources:
Abramovich A, Pang N, Moss A, Logie CH, Chaiton M, Kidd SA, et al. (2021) Investigating the impacts of COVID-19 among LGBTQ2S youth experiencing homelessness. PLoS ONE 16(9):e0257693. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257693º
Green, A.E., Price-Feeney, M. & Dorison, S.H. (2020). Implications of COVID-19 for LGBTQ Youth Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. New York, New York: The Trevor Project.
“Homelessness and Housing.” Homelessness and Housing | Youth.gov, Youth.gov, https://youth.gov/youth-topics/lgbtq-youth/homelessness#_ftn
Leighton, Quinn. “The Growing Epidemic of Mental Health and Homeless LGBTQ Youth.” Pride Foundation, 7 Mar. 2019, https://pridefoundation.org/2014/10/the-growing-epidemic-of-mental-health-and-homeless-lgbtq-youth/
Morton, M. H., Samuels, G. M., Dworsky, A., & Patel, S. (2018). Missed opportunities: LGBTQ youth homelessness in America. Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.
Vandenburg, Tycho, et al. “‘This Isn't a Fairy Tale We're Talking about; This Is Our Real Lives’: Community‐Orientated Responses to Address Trans and Gender Diverse Homelessness.” Wiley Online Library, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 28 May 2021, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jcop.22606