Attendees:
Councilwoman Cheryl Stallings Bianca Mason
Emily daCamara
Nancy Hagan
Officer Kenneth Ragland Mindy Varkevisser
Announcements:
Niki Miller
Nicole Bernard Toria
Chris
Danica Coleman
Service Group and Faith Alliance LGBTQ Youth and Human Trafficking 3/16/2021
Meeting Minutes
● Esther International is holding a Vision Night on March 28th.
Notes:
Kori Hennessey, Director of Education and Programs at the LGBT Center of Raleigh, presented on why LGBT youth experience greater vulnerability to exploitation and how communities can respond to better prevent their trauma.
- LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately trafficked
- 1 in 5 homeless youth become trafficking victims.
- 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+ in the US.
- 46% of the homeless youth that identify as LGBTQ+ ran away from homebecause their family rejected them. (Most often, a LGBTQ+ youth becomes homelessness because they run away from home due to family rejection. The second most frequent reason a LGBTQ+ youth becomes homeless is because they are forced to leave their home when their family learns of their sexual preference.)
- 56% of transgendered youth are involved in commercial sex
- 1 in 3 LGBTQ+ homeless youth are likely to be lured into trafficking within 48hours of leaving homeKori brought our attention to the 2020 State Index on Youth Homelessness, which scores all 50 states on the states’ efforts to prevent and end youth homelessness. https://www.youthstateindex.com/north-carolina
According to this report, North Carolina’s overall score was 35 out of 100. Please see link above for the full report.
How can we help?
Kori suggests the following initiatives:
- Fund community-led solutions, for example, donate to nonprofits andorganizations that support and create safe places for marginalized and at riskyouth
- Create safe spaces and peer-led support groups. Kori explains that LGBTQ+youth are more likely to be open and honest with other peers and younger adults.
- Service providers can offer gender-friendly services. They can also use inclusivelanguage, policies and approaches to be able to reach and support these youth.
- Listen to what LGBTQ+ youth are saying when they confide in you.