Affirming Compassion: About Rob & Our Youth

40% of homeless youth are LGBTQ. These young adults that are highly rejected by their families are three times more likely to use illegal drugs and to be at high-risk for HIV, and 8 times more likely to attempt suicide. Five of the top six barriers to improving services targeting LGBTQ homelessness relate to a lack of funding from all forms of government, foundations, and the public. There are up to 2.8 million youth at any given time who are homeless in the United States alone. 62% of LGBT youth experience some form of discrimination from their families, which is double the amount of other youth demographics. Only 1% of the federal budget that is given out to families for public housing, affordable housing programs, or rental assistance is allocated toward helping homeless youth.