NEW BRIGHTON, Minn. — It’s a truth too many young adults in our community experience: homelessness during the holidays.
But one Minnesota organization is committed to making a difference for an especially vulnerable population.
“Roughly 40 percent of all youth experiencing housing instability and homelessness are LGBTQI-identified, but [they] make up about 8 percent of the general population,” said Ryan Berg, Program Manager of ConneQT, referring to research from the University of Chicago.
That’s just the beginning of the staggering statistics, with the Trevor Project also finding more than a quarter of LGBTQ youth experience homelessness at some point in their lives.
“Folks were recognizing that youth that were in shelter that were LGBTQI-identified were reporting they would rather sleep on the streets than utilize those shelters due to discrimination, harassment and violence against who they are based on their sexual orientation and gender identity,” Berg added.
It’s why, Berg noted, the Avenues for Youth organization provides specific services for this community. Under the ConneQT program, youth find a safe haven with hosts who undergo training, a background check and a selection process that involves the youth themselves.
“The concept is really simple. It’s folks in the community open up their homes, provide food and shelter, and then we provide wrap-around services and support,” he said, adding, “Youth get to determine who they’d actually like to meet… It may seem small but it is transformational to young people to have that sense of agency and that experience.”
And that’s especially true today, Berg says, given the current climate and rhetoric.
“Because of the political and cultural assaults on LGBTQI youth, particularly trans and non-binary youth across the country… Youth are turning to Minnesota because Minnesota is a trans-refuge state,” Berg says, adding: “We know that healing happens in relationships. So creating a program where youth can bring their whole selves and not have to censor aspects of who they are in order to get their needs met, it’s transformational for young folks, but it’s also transformational for the community by extension.”
A family finds connection… in each other
And one family has experienced that transformation firsthand while also finding each other.
Bookended by the family’s dog and cat, Katie Leverentz and Archie Ramey stuff their family holiday card into envelopes. It’s a tradition this family doesn’t take lightly, not after a long journey to finding each other.
“I was kind of stuck,” Archie recalled about his teenage reality, one spent bouncing between foster homes and his birth mother’s home, along with his four younger siblings. Eventually, Archie found the ConneQT program, which helped him find Katie and her husband, Tim.
“It was nice to find you guys and just be immediately accepted. Because even if I changed my pronouns or the way I wanted to be viewed, you guys never questioned it or gave me back talk. It was just OK, we get it,” Archie shared with Katie.
Katie responded: “It seems like such a basic thing to accept you the way you were at that time, and you’ve changed a lot since then. But giving you the space and freedom to explore who you were without any shame or judgment, I think was huge.”
Archie agreed: “That’s all I needed.”
For this family, it was all they needed: a chance to connect completely and as their authentic selves.
“I’m just again so thankful that Archie’s in my life, and that he’s chosen to stay in our lives,” Katie said.
“I’m glad again I didn’t let myself win and accept the fact that everybody deserves to have a family,” Archie said, adding, “Love you.”
To which Katie immediately responded: “Love you, too.”
To learn more about the ConneQT program or how to support Avenues for Youth in general, just go to: https://avenuesforyouth.org/host-home-youth-support/
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