Addressing Homelessness in LGBTQ+ Youth
Published in NCCA Newsletter, Fall 2021
Although social conditions have been improving for the LGBTQ+ population, LGBTQ+ youth still face a lot of issues regarding their sexuality. One significant issue they face is homelessness because their family rejected them (Robinson, 2018). According to Wang et al. (2019), being homeless exposes youth to dangers that increase their risk of more trauma. Also, being homeless creates gateways for other issues. For example, they may face issues related to substance abuse and crime (Wang et al., 2019). Last, depression and anxiety are a few mental health issues that these individuals may encounter as they cope with being rejected for their sexuality (Craig et al., 2019). Unfortunately, most youth do not have access to resources, such as counseling and health services, or other tools to help them cope with the events that have occurred (Wang et al., 2019). The first intervention technique to use should be family-based therapy (Wang et al., 2019). Unfortunately, if the family has already rejected their child, this intervention will most likely not be beneficial. However, LGBTQ+ youth who are at risk of being rejected by their family may benefit from this intervention (Wang et al., 2019).
Wang et al. (2019) also found that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is useful in helping this population overcome any issues resulting from being rejected by their family. Wandrekar and Nigudkar (2019) found that using a CBT-based group therapy focused on Sexuality, Awareness, Acceptance, Health, and Support (SAAHAS) helped these individuals with their mental health issues. While CBT is useful in helping the LGBTQ+ community, more research needs to be published (Wandrekar & Nigudkar, 2019). The first thing that counseling professionals should focus on is helping these individuals access mental health resources. These resources can help them cope effectively with what has happened to them. Wandrekar and Nigudkar (2019) note that using CBT-based group therapy that focuses on utilizing SAAHAS techniques is extremely cost effective. Just like Alcoholics Anonymous meet in buildings such as churches and schools, group therapy sessions can occur in similar places. Craig et al. (2019) noted that using affirmative coping skills helps decrease unhealthy behaviors and increases positive behaviors. Using affirmative coping skills as a technique can prove useful if the youth end up being forced into homelessness, since it teaches coping skills to handle stressful situations. This is another area that needs to be studied further to help these individuals. References Craig, S. L., McInroy, L. B., Eaton, A. D., Iacono, G., Leung, V. W., Austin, A. & Dobinson, C. (2019). An affirmative coping skills intervention to improve the mental and sexual health of sexual and gender minority youth (Project Youth AFFIRM): Protocol for an implementation study. JMIR Research Protocols, 8(6), 1-17. http://doi.org./10.2196/13462
Robinson, B. A. (2018). Conditional families and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth homelessness: Gender, sexuality, family instability, and rejection. Journal of Marriage and Family, 80(2), 383-396. https://doi-org/10.1111/jomf.12466 Wandrekar, J., Nigudkar, A. (2019). Learnings from SAAHAS-A queer affirmative CBT-based group therapy intervention for LGBTQIA+ individuals in Mumbai, India. Journal of Psychosocial Health, 1(2), 164-173. https://doi-org./10.1177/2631831819862414 Wang, J. Z., Mott, S., Magwood, O., Mathew, C., Mclellan, A., Kpade, V., Gaba, P., Kozloff, N., Pottie, K., & Andermann, A. (2019). The impact of interventions for youth experiencing homelessness on housing, mental health, substance use, and family cohesion: A systematic review. BMC Public Health, 19(1528), 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7856-0