The number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer and two-spirited (LGBTQ2S) homeless youth in Canada is disproportionately high. A revolutionary Calgary-based program will soon offer some of the young people an opportunity to relocate to a safe, accepting family environment.
On Friday, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary announced the creation of its Aura Host Homes program that will match LGBTQ2S youth with host parents. The program will provide the youth with access to skill development courses and support workers.
“The Aura Host Program is truly the first program of its kind in, not only Calgary, Alberta, but in Canada,” explained Cheryl Doherty, Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary CEO. “These will be youth who do not feel safe enough to live in shelters or group homes, but they’ll want a different kind of relationship and we think that might work well in a host family,”
The initiative is set to begin in the next few months once support workers are hired and host families are selected and trained. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary and the Calgary Homeless Foundation have identified 16 young persons, between the ages of 14 and 24, for the program.
Dr. Alex Abramovich has researched LGBTQ2S youth homelessness for nearly a decade. The postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto says LGBTQ2S homelessness is prevalent but specific numbers are difficult to confirm.
“We don’t have accurate data as to what this number looks like today in Canada or how we would even begin to scale the issue of LGBTQ2S youth homelessness on a national or provincial level,” said Dr. Abramovich. “Programs often don’t even collect data on a young person’s gender or sexual identity.”
A recent study of Calgary’s homeless indicated 380 youth lived on the street. A Canadian study conducted nearly 15 years ago discovered 25 to 40 per cent of homeless youth identified as LGBTQ2S.
“We know that the number one pathway into youth homelessness is family conflict, regardless of gender or sexual identity,” said Dr. Abramovich. “For young people who identify as LGBTQ, identity based family conflict, a young person may come out to the family and then may be forced to leave home.”
Abramovich adds young people often encounter homophobia, transphobia, violence, and discrimination in shelters, housing programs, and youth serving organizations.
The Aura Host Homes program is set to receive an initial $254,000 in provincial funding as part of the Government of Alberta’s Plan to Prevent and Reduce Youth Homelessness. The money will assist with the payment of support staff, resources for youth, and compensating the host families.
According to Cheryl Doherty, the Aura Host Homes program will be expanded if it proves successful, but initial reaction to the concept has been overwhelmingly supportive.
“I think when Calgarians step up and listen and understand that some of the highest suicide rates relate to the LGBTQ2S youth, the highest number of kids dropping out of school, the highest number of kids who are homeless,” said Doherty. “It’s a shame we didn’t step back years ago and say this isn’t acceptable, but now Calgarians have stepped up and said ‘We’ve got to do something about that’."
