Marriage equality may be the LGBT issue dominating mainstream media headlines, but there’s another pervasive problem affecting these communities that gets significantly less attention: homelessness.
According to a recent study by the Williams Institute, 40% of homeless youth is LGBT identified, and the leading cause of this homelessness is family rejection after coming out.
More: Cyndi Lauper Opens Housing for LGBT Youth in New York
The issue is one that photographer Joan Lobis Brown hopes to address through her beautiful portrait project featuring captivating images of at-risk LGBT youth.
“When I photograph the emotionally ‘isolated,’ it is my goal for viewers to look at my photographs and to find something they can relate to and empathize with — a gesture, a posture, an emotion revealed — or, on perhaps a more profound level, lead the viewer to identify with the outsider that lurks even within the most secure of us.”
All images © Joan Lobis Brown; www.joanlobisbrown.com