The New York City Department of Youth and Community Development axed
funding for programs that serve LGBTQ Homeless and Runaway Youth.
According to a City Council-funded survey, 35-40% of homeless youth in NYC identify as LGBTQ. It’s not enough to count this population; City Council needs to protect them!
These funding cuts will:
• Leave over 1,500 LGBTQ homeless youth vulnerable to verbal, physical and sexual assault and scapegoating by heterosexual youth at mainstream shelters;
• Increase rates of suicide, street work and HIV infection among LGBTQ homeless youth;
• End critical services for LGBTQ homeless youth like medical care, case management and job training;
• Drop the City’s bed count for LGBTQ youth from a meager 75 beds to a disastrous 40 total beds;
• Result in greater costs to the City than those saved by not funding safe havens for LGBTQ youth.
Cutting costs at the expense of LGBTQ homeless and runaway youth is unacceptable.
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