KEYS program is reducing youth homelessness in Hamilton County -- with goal of ending it completely wcpo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wcpo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Lighthouse Youth and Family Services works with about 800-900 youth a year. While it focuses on all youth and families, it also tries to build bridges with LGBTQ teens, who face unique sets of hardships and are historically distrustful of shelters. The difficult part about that is most young people who live on the streets unsheltered usually require about seven to nine contacts before they actually engage in case management services and may be willing to come into shelter, Campbell of Homeless Youth Services says. So it takes building the rapport and contact and finding them multiple times.
That disproportionately affects LGBTQ youth, she says, because they re more likely to live on the street than their peers, having been kicked out by their families because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. And while they may be able to couch surf with friends for a while, Campbell says those opportunities aren t permanent.