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‘Survival Sex’ the Only Option for Some Homeless LGBTQ Youth, Says Ali Forney Center

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Although much of the recent focus on LGBTQ rights has been on same-sex marriage, it is by far the only pressing issue faced by the community. Also of huge concern is the issue of LGBTQ youth. The United States’ Department of Justice estimates that 1.7 million teenagers are homeless in the country, while a Williams Institute study from 2012 notes that around 40% of homeless youth is LGBTQ.

As homeless shelters are often run by religious groups and often see gang involvement too – both of which are intolerant to LGBTQ+ youth and their identities – they can be incredibly hostile places to stay. So hostile in fact, that many homeless LGBTQ youth find themselves engaging in ‘survival sex’ as they are forced to sell their bodies.

Speaking to Teen Vogue, Carl Siciliano, the executive director and founder of New York City-base charity Ali Forney Center (“making a difference by rescuing kids from the dangers of the streets and placing them into our safe”), shed more light on this issue. Siciliano explains:

“When I started working with homeless kids, I saw the desperation and degradation that forced them into trading their bodies for survival. One of the fundamental issues is that you’ve got a situation where there are all these LGBT youth that are disproportionately making up the homeless youth population.

A lot of the youth shelters are run by religious organizations, so LGBTQ youth have a difficult time getting off of the streets, and when you’re outside, and you’re scared and hungry and desperate. Who’s going to hire you? You’re dirty, you’re a mess, so how do you survive? [Survival sex is] something these young people are forced into it by a broader neglect of the reality of youth homelessness.”

Siciliano also notes that “there isn’t a range of reasons for survival sex” and that is really does boil down to homeless young people finding themselves with “no way to support yourself, no food, no place to sleep”. The Ali Forney Center director also described instances where these young people have had to sneak into buildings to sleep in hallways or even had to sleep on the subway.

Despite being the United States’ largest organisation tackling the issue of homeless LGBTQ youth, the Ali Forney Center notes that it “cannot do this alone”. The organisation asks that people consider donating money or purchase an item from its Amazon Wish List to “directly help homeless LGBTQ youth”.

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