Homelessness among LGBTQ+ youth in the Richmond region was the subject of a community forum Sunday that included the public unveiling of a new program that will provide temporary housing as well as other services.
Host Home is seeking volunteers willing to open their homes to youth experiencing homelessness.
“We’re looking for someone who has a spare bedroom, access to a kitchen and a bathroom, and are LGBTQ+ affirmative,” said CasSandra Calin, youth resource advocate for Side by Side, a nonprofit in the LGBTQ+ Youth Housing Collaborative along with the Virginia Anti-Violence Project and the Nationz Foundation. “That’s all we need. They don’t need to pay for food. They don’t need to pay for transportation or drive the youth anywhere.
“They need to offer a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen and be supportive of this young adult.”
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Youths in the program range in age from 18 to 25. (Calin said foster care agencies provide services to youth ages 14 to 17, and the collaborative is advising those groups.) Host Home volunteers will work with Side by Side staff for training, and participate in an interview and home visit. Volunteers can sign up as emergency Host Home homes for stays of one to 10 days, or for longer-term commitments of up to 18 months. Five Host Homes are already in the works, Calin said.
For more information, call (804) 644-4800 or visit www.sidebysideva.org.
Youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ+) experience homelessness at disproportionate rates — a national study has shown 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBTQ+ — and those youth are more likely to become victims of abuse and assault, Calin said. Many of those who end up homeless have been kicked out of their families’ homes, she said.
In 2017, United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg and Advocates for Richmond Youth convened a working group of nonprofits to develop a comprehensive plan to address youth homelessness in Richmond. From that effort, the LGBTQ+ Youth Housing Collaborative was formed to create a supportive environment for youth in the program, Calin said.
“We have a clothing closet, Nationz has a food pantry, VAVP has advocacy and mental health services,” Calin said at the meeting at Faith Community Baptist Church. “All of those are services are things folks need when they’re experiencing homelessness, so we want to create wraparound and holistic services that are ... LGBTQ+ affirming.”
Calin said the long-term aim of Host Home is to help the youth reach the point of independent living.
“Your spare room can change the trajectory of a young person’s life,” Calin said.
When members of a youth panel were asked what they need from the community, Justice Valentine, 25, who has experienced homelessness, replied, “To actually care.”
The next Host Home information session will be held April 6 at 2 p.m. at the Peter Paul Development Center, 1708 N. 22nd St.
(804) 649-6639
