Word on the street

Homelessness study finds nearly 20 percent of homeless youth are LGBT

Preliminary results from the 2013 Street Needs Assessment (SNA), which provides information and statistics on shelters, the homeless and the underhoused in the city of Toronto, has asked specifically about respondents’ sexual and gender identity for the first time ever.

“Nearly 20 percent of homeless youth identify as a part of the LGBQT community, more than twice the rate for all age groups,” the study says, with a higher percentage of LGBT homeless females specifically.

Other troubling statistics show that the share of seniors who are homeless has nearly doubled since 2009 and that nearly one third of the outdoor homeless population identifies as aboriginal, which is up from 2009 as well.

Michael Lyons is a queer-identified, chaotic neutral writer, activist, misanthrope, sapiosexual, and feline enthusiast. He is a columnist, blogger and regular contributor with Xtra and has contributed to Plenitude Magazine, KAPSULA Magazine, Crew Magazine, Memory Insufficient e-zine, The Ryersonian, Buddies Theatre blog, Toronto Is Awesome blog and Fab Magazine and more.

Read More About:
Culture, Homelessness, Arts, Toronto

Keep Reading

Sun

Rosalía’s ‘Lux’ tour taught me things I didn’t even know I could know

After years of pining, I finally went to the Catalan superstar’s concert. I wasn’t ready for what it did to me
The protagonists of Blood Lines embracing

The big twist in ‘Blood Lines’ is more than shocking

Gail Maurice’s queer Métis romance takes a massive risk—letting it dig deep into the pain and loss perpetuated by colonial structures
A still from Girls Like Girls

‘Girls Like Girls’ once meant everything to me. I’ve outgrown it

Hayley Kiyoko’s new movie tries to recapture the magic of the mid-2010s music video it’s based on. But time has dulled its revolutionary edge
John Early in Maddie's Secret holding two jars above an open box

‘Maddie’s Secret’ is the movie about eating disorders we need

John Early’s pastiche of after-school specials mixes belly laughs with gut punches. It’s a rare masterwork
Advertisement