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The Facts
About homeless LGBTQ youths in our communities
Conservatively estimated, each year 110,000 LGBTQ youth experience homelessness in America.
5 MAJOR CITIES
LOS ANGELES
LAS VEGAS
NEW YORK
SAN JOSE
SAN FRANCISCO
accounted for about a quarter of all unaccompanied youth in the country.
Los Angeles had the largest number (2,670 or 7%) followed by Las Vegas (2,233 or 6%).
-2015 Annual Assessment Report to Congress
About 50,000 youth in the U.S. sleep on the street for six months or more. Homeless youth face unique developmental challenges and vulnerability.
Studies indicate that once homeless, LGBTQ youth are at higher risk for victimization and suffer higher incidents of mental health problems and unsafe sexual behavior than straight homeless youth. They experience an average of 7.4 more acts of sexual violence toward them than their heterosexual peers and are more likely to attempt suicide (62%) than their heterosexual homeless peers (29%).
Youth consistently report severe family conflict as the primary reason for their homelessness. LGBTQ youth report double the rates of sexual abuse before age 12.
Homeless youth WHO identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or questioning (LGBTQ) are often at heightened risk of violence, abuse, and exploitation than their heterosexual peers.
-National Alliance to End Homelessness
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