"People tend to think homeless are a homogeneous group. We are trying to show this isn't true," said co-author Ana Marie Cauce, a UW psychology professor.
"A lot of people believe homeless adolescents are on the street by their own choice. That usually isn't the case," said Bryan Cochran, lead author of the study and a UW doctoral student in psychology.
When you see these quotes above:
Does it motivate you to find out more?
Do you think all homeless females are prostitutes by choice?
Do you believe that your friend(s)may have been homeless at one point in their life?
Do you want to help debunk the myth that only Young White Heterosexual, Older African -American Males are the ones who live on the street?
Homelessness hits all of us in various ways and no one is hit harder then the parent of a child on the street.
“Homeless youths who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender have a perilous existence on the street. Compared to heterosexual homeless youth, they experience more physical and sexual violence, use more drugs and abuse them more frequently, have more sexual partners and have higher rates of mental illness”, according to a new University of Washington study.
*The study that was done by the University was multi-ethnic,of which Fifty-five percent were male and out of that an overwhelming majority, 71 of 84, identified themselves as bisexual.
I myself haven’t been homeless,but I had the pleasure as a youth to work on behalf of Homeless Adults. I also had a few friends growing up,just like many others out reading this who didn't think that it would be that bad to live alone, be free, have fun, chill with friends, not have to work, come and go as you please, be a free spirit and etc.. Not one of us knew the implications or the problems this new found freedom and glory would have in our lives. and like so many youth out there right now, we also had underlying reasons for walking or running away or may have felt at the time, in that very moment had no choice or recourse.
As I type this, I am still looking for and holding out for Jenny(my free spirit)who at the age of 17 decided to be a drifter. The last I heard of her was a year later, she was said to be teaching youth to rally,sounds just like Jenny! Man, I hope she made it and for those reading who may be in fact wondering, the answer is YES, she was a Libra. The last thing we did together was talk which lead to laughter, then dancing in a circle spinning 'til we fell down. She then told me she was into women,thinking of eating only cheese(as a protest) proceeded to kiss me then said,always remember to make ME happy and just F__ the world!
Well, to all my "Jenny's" may you be safe on your journey home & you will be happy to know I finally learned how to make me happy.
Hopefully by continuing to read this blog among other sources, you increase your awareness and sympathy to the fight we have ahead of us to make everyone save.
The study showed sexual minorities had nearly twice as many sexual partners in their lives than did heterosexual homeless youth, 24 vs. 13. Both groups reported having unprotected sex about half the time. However, Cochran said, the important factor is who street youth are having sex with and sexual minorities may be more likely to be having sex with partners who have HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases.
I think that it is important that we not only be aware of but address the different issues that may come when dealing with someone who was or currently is homeless. You never can know who come to your doorstep, clinic or group so for that alone we should learn not to be so technical, mechanical when it come to playing a supportive role, or assuming that everyone is a “clinical case”. We should follow the rule of thumb like we do when it comes to sexual violence,which is that no two Victims of a sexual crime or abuse will be alike, that is especially true of women and men who have been or continue to live on the street.
The study gave insight on what is a staggering scaling problem for each city.
Click the link for full article
http://uwnews.washington.edu/ni/article.asp?articleID=2400
if you are a runaway or know one who is call 1-800-RUN-AWAY(786-2929)
if you would like help or info check out these resources http://www.rachelmiller.info/linkso-africanamerican.htm
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