lgbt youth

A staggering number of LGBT youth face homelessness in an era of limited spending and fewer resources to combat the problem, National Public Radio reported in a Sunday Weekend Edition segment. Depending on the study, somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of homeless youths identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. It's largely because gay youths are more often kicked out of their homes than straight youths. And even if they are not kicked out, they may feel so uncomfortable that they leave.

Earlier this year Advocate asked LGBT people to send in a random photo from their day on August 12, to become a part of the second annual A Day In Gay America photo project, and it quickly became clear that many of the participants were in their teen years or early twenties, perhaps living it differently than those who came before them. Here are some of the young women who participated in this year’s Day In Gay America photo project.

Britney Spears gave a special shout-out to gay youth who attended her concert in San Francisco Sunday afternoon. The front section of the floor was reserved for a group of teenage LGBT fans from the Larkin Street Youth Center and the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center. Spears called out to them from the stage. "They're in the front row," she said. "Thanks for coming."

As part of National Runaway Prevention Month, the Give a Damn Campaign, a project of Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund, released their latest video focused on raising awareness for homeless gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. In the video, Susan Sarandon, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, Pete Wentz, Eden Riegel and Cyndi Lauper speak up about the need to bring an end to this epidemic. 

Millions of people and counting have joined the call on Facebook to wear purple Wednesday in honor of Spirit Day, which remembers LGBT youths lost to bullying. E! News hosts Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic will wear purple. Fort Worth city councilman Joel Burns will wear purple during his appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Seacrest, Khloe Kardashian, Jill Zarin, Alyssa Milano, Darren Hayes, and many more have “gone purple” on Twitter and Facebook. Here are the ladies of The View supporting 'Spirit Day.'

Hundreds rallied in New York's Union Square Monday to speak out against the city's proposed slashing of its contribution to youth shelters, including the Ali Forney Center, which provides housing for LGBT young people throughout the city. According to WCBS, the city spends approximately $12 million supporting the shelters but may be forced to halve its contribution because of a lack of funding.  Sandra Bernhard, an honorary member of the Ali Forney Center's board of directors, stressed the importance of keeping the shelters funded.

Pop singer and "Celebrity Apprentice" Cyndi Lauper is planning on opening a shelter in New York for LGBT young people. Lauper, who has been an advocate with her "True Colors Fund," says the shelter in Harlem will be called True Colors Residence. "We need to make sure we're taking care of them. This is the next generation of the LGBT community," Lauper said in a statement. Residents will pay rent based on income. 

Police were once considered enemies of LGBT people; indeed, the event generally considered to have spurred the modern gay rights movement was a police raid on a gay bar, New York City’s Stonewall Inn.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has joined the sustained national chorus against antigay bullying. In a new YoutTube video, Clinton says, "Children are particularly vulnerable to the hurt caused by discrimination and prejudice, and we've lost many young people over the years to suicide. These most recent deaths are a reminder that all Americans have to work harder to overcome bigotry and hatred."

Ohio is instituting a pilot project to deter tobacco use in the Cleavland area’s the state’s lebian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths. According to state health officials, the CDC smoking and tabacco use is 60 percent more prevalent in LGBT youth populations than that of the general contingency.

Democratic Representatives from Wisconsin Gwen Moore and openly gay Rep. Mark Pocan, have proposed legislation that would provide assistance for runaway and homeless LGBT youth.

Among the casualties of Superstorm Sandy in New York City is an institution for homeless LGBT youth, the Ali Forney Center’s drop-in center on West 22nd Street in the West Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.

California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation to put an end to so-called ex-gay therapy against LGBT youth, making his the first state to protect young people from such practices.

Comedian Tracy Morgan met with a handful of LGBT leaders and youths Friday to talk about his remarks onstage during a set in Nashville last week, threatening to stab his child if he ever said he was gay.

In response to the spate of news reports about young LGBT people being bullied by their peers, leading some to suicide, and increased awareness of gay teens in general, The New York Times has launched an interactive feature, “Coming Out,” for youths to share their life stories.

In a move hailed by advocates for its impact on the lives of vulnerable gay youths, California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday signed a bill allowing minors ages 12 to 17 to access mental health services without parental consent.