#homeless youth

[chronicallycouchbound]

Internalized Ableism As Means For Unhoused Survival

We need to dissect the cultural context of homelessness as it relates to disability. I’ve spent most of my life unhoused, while also being a disabled person who didn’t have a clear understanding that I was disabled, and both of these experiences had huge impacts on my experiences of ableism, especially internalized.

It needs to be understood that it’s not always rooted in internalized ableism for someone to not identify as disabled, especially regarding physical disabilities. Including choosing to hide disability, pain, or weakness. It also includes choosing not to use mobility aids or other assistive devices that could, in theory, be helpful for their day-to-day life. Instead, they grit their teeth through the pain or find alternatives to manage. This is akin to (and may overlap with) autistic masking.

Being on the streets comes with a culture that allows for strength to often guarantee safety. The ability to physically defend yourself, carry your belongings, withstand harsh weather, use survival expertise, etc. are often necessary skills. Showing weakness is vulnerability. Vulnerability allows for situations where you are more likely to be targeted because attackers can recognize your difficulties and take advantage of them. This danger is amplified if you are a part of other marginalized groups.

When I was a young queer and trans person growing up on the streets, my homelessness was inextricably linked to those experiences. If I were to seem like I was disabled, I was putting myself in a more vulnerable position. Once I started using mobility aids on the streets, I experienced significantly more dangerous situations than I had before. I faced more direct physical violence and threats as a result of it. It wasn’t just me fearing that I might face judgment for being visibly disabled, it was that I was facing real-world repercussions, both within the unhoused and housed community. I was targeted by housed people frequently due to the inherent publicity of unhoused experiences.

Unhoused people spend significantly more time in public. As a currently unstably housed person, but housed nonetheless, I have the privilege of privacy for my pain. I can crawl in my apartment freely without anyone literally kicking me while I’m down. I can scream, I can sob, I can dissociate, I can do whatever I need to, with or without aids, and not face violence from the people around me.

I also have access to more supportive aids just by having housing. I now have in-home care attendants, something that was impossible without a home. I have a bed I can rest in at any time. I have a microwave for hot pads. I have a bathroom. I have electricity. I have food. These things were never guaranteed while unhoused and disabled. Unsurprisingly, I have significantly fewer emergency room trips, unmanageable flares, missed doctor appointments, etc. now that I have even unstable housing.

When you have more time in the public eye, there are more opportunities for facing ableism and houseism from the general populace. Those two experiences intertwined, and being chronically homeless, led to me having to navigate internalized ableism as a survival skill because there was a direct link to the ableism I faced daily.

Some disabled people on the streets, especially if they can’t hide their disability, feel more pressure to present themselves as inspiration porn. Inspiration porn panders to ableist narratives about disabled experiences, and can even give you an edge while panhandling. It also acts as a protective factor, there’s a mindset that if you’re not held back by disability, then you are not disabled. Thus, your disability cannot be exploited by others, and you are just as strong as a physically abled person. It’s something we do because we have to in order to survive, whether or not we’re conscious of the ableist narratives we’re feeding into.

There are times when I have to choose to do actions that are more harmful for me, such as presenting as more abled, for my immediate safety. I have to weigh the risks, and often, the risk of being attacked is far greater than the risk of falling, fainting, or being injured. This is not internalized ableism, it isn’t subconscious, it is for protection. Presenting as disabled is difficult enough, but when other marginalizations are added to it, it is exponentially more dangerous. Even more so than it is for me to not use aids or to not accept help at times.

If I wasn’t able to be recognized as disabled, I was granted more privileges akin to those my able-bodied peers automatically receive. If a bathroom wasn’t accessible for me, but I did my best with it instead of asking for accommodations (which is often seen as being picky, needy, or ungrateful) then I was more likely to be allowed to use that bathroom again. The same goes for couch surfing at a friend's house, needing to carry everything I own up three flights of stairs, if I didn’t mention that it was difficult for me or said no to help, then I was being a good guest by not making my hosts uncomfortable. Making concessions like this whenever I could gave me more access to safety.

When my disabilities became more serious, and I wasn't able to keep making concessions, I would fall in that bathroom, I would faint on the stairs, and I immediately was more unsafe. I couldn’t hide my disability anymore, the choice was taken from me. No amount of pandering to abled people would make me able to do those things anymore. For me, that felt like a personal failure. I had been told my whole life that I could and should push through my disabling symptoms and conditions, and I took that as fact. Not being able to do that was a heavy and horrifying feeling for me.

It’s taken years (and is an ongoing process) to find safe enough spaces where I can ask for help. Where I can freely use mobility aids, show my actual pain, wear braces, wear compression garments, cry, rest, and otherwise exist as my disabled self without being harmed. It’s taken equally as long (and is still ongoing) to find grace within myself and advocate for the accommodations I need and actually use them. I still struggle with the pressure to feed into inspiration porn, something that the cripple reclamation movement is focused on deconstructing. I struggle with accepting help, asking for help, or even looking like I might need help. But I also recognize that beautiful things can happen when I get what I need.

It heals internalized houseism to be dismantling my internalized ableism, and vice versa.

Unhoused disabled people are allowed to be weak. Unhoused disabled people are allowed to cry, to scream, to be in pain, to ask for help. Unhoused disabled people are allowed to be human, just like everyone else.

#disability #disabled #cripple punk #cripplepunk #chronically couchbound #disability pride month #disabled pride #disabled pride month #disability pride #internalized ableism #houseism #unhoused #crip theory #houseless #houselessness #homelessness #protect homeless youth #chronic homelessness #homeless #homeless youth #homeless trans youth #intersectionality #activism #intersectional feminism #unhoused theory #poverty #privilege #inequality #classism #capitalism

[king-orion]

Homeless, Trans Youth!

Dear Tumblr,

I'm reaching out to you today because two of my dear friends have fallen on hard times. Unfortunately both were disowned by their family for being members of the LGBTQ+ community. One being homosexual while the other is trans. After their father passed away the two fell into debt following the burial, funeral and future back rent from the eviction. They've been struggling to make ends meet and were evicted from the home their father had bought after their mother’s death in, are currently homeless and are trying to get out of it. I’ve taken this journey with them and know they’ve been trying their best. For the past 2 years, they’ve been trying to get an apartment with no avail. And now to make matters worse, one of them lost their job due to discrimination of their gender identity, leaving them with even less support. These two are some of the kindest and most amazing people I know, and it breaks my heart to see them struggling like this.

I know that Tumblr is a supportive community, and I'm hoping that we can come together to help these two incredible individuals get back on their feet. Any contribution, no matter how small, will go towards helping them find a new home, and get the basic necessities they need to survive.

If you can't contribute financially, please share this post and spread the word. Every little bit helps, and I know that together we can make a difference.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and for any support you can give. And thank you for showing them that the world does care about them and that regardless of their their gender, or sexuality, that people do care. https://gofund.me/d4417968

#gofundme #go fund them #gofundus #lgbtq #trans rights #transgender #lgbtq help #homeless youth #lgbtq positivity

[tibbind]

Today I (25) had a man (60's) tell me it was my generation who is in control of the government and this was after going off about how awful things are.

It's absurd. His generation are literally the people in charge, with Gen x following. That's how our shit system works. You can't even run for certain offices until you're 35-45+.

Sure, yeah, it's my fucking generation in control. It's my generation who's holding all of the offices! Duh! We want it to be shit! We want homeless people living on the streets and we LOVE having really small wages. Isn't it just fucking dandy how our military industrial complex is larger than the next 3 countries combined if you list them by money invested yearly, and/or personnel. /s

I unironically wanted to fucking slap the dude. As soon as he left I looked at my boss and just went "my generation isn't in control of shit."

Like, we have to wait for you all to die first. I wish we actually did have as much power as that dumbass thinks. At the very least we'd have people who actually know what it's like to be gen z. The impossible housing market, min wage not rising vs massive inflation, homelessness on the rise for Gen Z, especially queer youth and young adults.

I am one of those statistics. A nonbinary person who was homeless. The system is not built for us and we are not surviving, we are barely holding on.

The people who are in power are peeling our fingers off the ledge. It isn't our fault that we fall. It's theirs.

#boomers #homeless #homeless youth #gen z homeless #homeless crisis #capitalism in action #i fucking hate capitalism #customer service #gay #lgbt #queer #generation z #gen z

[charitabledirection]

November 5th, 2022: The charity Centre Point thanked Harry Styles today on its Twitter account for donating to them the fee that was paid for the use of his song Treat People with Kindness. Indeed, a new Christmas ad by the Marks and Spencer Group features Harry Styles’ song Treat People with Kindness, which means this company had to pay a fee to Harry for the use of the song. Marks and Spencer Group is a major British multinational retailer that sells clothing, beauty, home products, and food products. The thank you tweet by Centre Point says “Thank you @Harry_Styles for donating the fee for the use of your song to Centrepoint for @marksandspencer’s Christmas ad! Your support will help young people facing homelessness find a place to be treated with kindness this Winter.“

#harry styles #Harry styles charity #centre point #marks and spencer #christmas #TPWK #treat people with kindness #a charitable direction #homeless youth #homlessness

[commiepinkofag]

The killing of a budding activist, and the San Francisco district attorney’s decision not to release video footage of the incident or charge the security guard, has sent shockwaves through the city, sparking disgust at the quick use of deadly force by a private guard and protests about the city’s continued failures to provide housing, services and basic safety for Black trans youth like Brown.

[📷 Banko Brown’s family on the steps of City Hall, May 7, 2023]

“What makes this case deadly serious,” said Black Alliance for Peace member Jeremy Miller over the mic, “is if we do not respond appropriately to this lynching, we stand the risk of normalizing murder over loss prevention — murder over alleged theft from a retail establishment.”

…

Banko “always tried to think about all the other social justice movements that were happening. He organized over extended foster care services, lobbying Nancy Skinner. Free Palestine — he was there at that march. During the pandemic, he surveyed people on the street to collect data on the street to see what kinds of services young people needed.”

“He was just selfless,” Julia Arroyo, close confidante of Brown’s and co-executive director of the Young Women’s Freedom Center.

https://missionlocal.org/2023/05/100-rally-sf-city-hall-banko-brown/ [by Griffin Jones, Mission Local, May 7, 2023]

[Marching while holding a poster that reads ‘In Solidarity with Iran,’ Banko Brown was a regular presence at rallies and town halls in San Francisco. 📷: Courtesy of Young Women’s Freedom Center.]

#banko brown #san francisco #lgbtq+ rights #transgender #california #sf #san fran #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbqti #queer #trans #social justice #trans lives matter #black lives matter #walgreens #murder #housing #heatlhcare #homeless youth #homeless #houselessness #young women’s freedom center #2023

[quotesfromall]

It's hard to remember that I used to sleep in a bed and had to do my homework before I could watch television and play with my friends. It's hard to remember that we used to have ice cream and cakes to eat. Was that really me? Did I really leave a big piece of cake on my plate one day because I didn't feel like eating it? That must have been a dream. That couldn't have been my life. My life is dust and rocks and rude boys and skinny babies

Deborah Ellis, Parvana's Journey

#homelessness #homeless youth #unhoused #hostel life #deborah ellis #ellis #parvana's journey #2002 #ellis 2002 #parvanas journey

[superheroesaremyjam113263]

Does anyone have any advice for someone who is newly homeless? Under the age of 21 and just got kicked out yesterday. I'm staying with friends for a few days. I'm employed, and a friend agreed to help me get to work. I contacted a shelter, and I'm going to meet them tomorrow.

#please #i need some help #homlessness #lgbt #lgbtq youth #homeless youth

[deadfairybitch]

sorry its been a while aha

2/6/22

there is nothing wrong with my parents; it is all my fault. it has got to be my fault. of course it has.

it couldn't be them. the reliable, the rational, the reasonable. it couldn't be them. of course it couldnt.

it could only be me, the permanently branded liar, the reckless, irresponsible, impulsive fucking liar. it could only be me, the one who sought refuge from the guilt and shame in the bottom of a bottle. the one who sought refuge from the ruin in the blade, in the blood. 

it could only be me. the starving, rotting, sick, sick, sick. the fucked, the ruined, the dirty. 

there is nothing wrong with the way they raised me and everything wrong with the way I raised me. it couldn't be their fault, I only cut myself after every conversation. it couldn't be their fault, I just plan on hanging myself after every conversation.

theres nothing wrong with that. of course there isn't, I'm so desensitized that I can't figure out what the problem is.

it's me. of course it's me. they were right all along.

they were right about everything. 

#child abuse #bpd #homeless #sofa surfing #homeless youth #abuse #domestic violence #traumacore #child neglect #neglect #aspd #npd #depression #anxiety #ptsd #cptsd #recovery #selfblame #trauma #childhood trauma

[landofthingsandsuch]

I’ve worked at a homeless shelter for young adults between the ages of 16-20 for over a decade now and it has open my eyes to so many things like addiction, mental health, sex trafficking, child protective services and foster care, and so many other things that you come across dealing with this population. It’s open my eyes to how much there are a lack of services and resources needed when it comes to dealing with things such as addiction, mental health, abuse, CPS, etc. Even though it hurts seeing how the system as a whole is flawed and how I wish there were resources, I am thankful that my job has helped me have the ability to be less judgmental and more understanding with others. Okay. Enough for feelings.

#mental health #homelessness #homeless youth #addiction #sex trafficking #foster care #child protective services #me and my thoughts #i’m in my feelings #damn these feelings

[chronicallycouchbound]

Homelessness as Trauma: Transitioning Into Housing

Having housing after experiencing homelessness for over half of my life wasn’t healing for me (and most others too).

Homelessness is inherently traumatic in and of itself. Just the act of not having housing is traumatic. But before someone becomes homeless ever, we know that certain marginalized communities are more likely to become homeless, and that those marginalized communities are experiencing communal trauma AND the individual person is experiencing trauma. Additionally, whatever led to you becoming homeless was traumatic. And then you’re at significantly increased exposure to other traumas while unhoused (friends dying, police violence, systemic barriers, communal traumas, developing medical conditions, medical discrimination, etc).

Long-term homelessness is exponentially traumatizing.

When I lived in a youth homeless shelter for nearly 4 years, prior to, and after that I had been unhoused or in extremely unstable housing. Watching as other youth would become unhoused and then quickly gain housing, some in under a week, most in under a few months, I felt absolutely dispirited. As time went on, I only acquired more marginalization and thus faced more barriers. I felt like I would never have stable housing. It often still feels this way.

The staff at the shelter where I lived consistently said “We are not a crisis stabilization unit” in response to youth showing signs of trauma and crisis. Almost no concrete supportive services exist for people transitioning out of long-term homelessness. I stopped qualifying for most services after I stopped being legally homeless, even though my housing was even more unstable than the shelter was most of the time.

For a frame of reference, because I was never officially in foster care as a minor (even though I was homeless and on my own documented as a minor, had various legal guardians other than my parents, as well as dozens of child services calls and regular check-ins with caseworkers because of documented physical abuse and neglect all throughout my childhood, but I digress) I don't qualify for the services that foster youth get granted until they're 30, even if they only spent 1 night in foster care. Some of those services include free college, housing vouchers to pay for housing in full, guaranteed Medicaid coverage, additional food stamps, and more. I have several friends who have used these programs and are thriving! I'm glad they exist for people in need-- they should also be expanded to include homeless youth.

So when I moved into my first apartment, on my own, at age 19, I was genuinely more terrified than at any time while I had ever been homeless. I slept with my backpack as a pillow and my jacket as a blanket, despite having pillows and blankets to use. It was like a security blanket for me. I slept with my knife on my waistband like I always did, and I reluctantly put my boots within arm's reach instead of wearing them.

I didn't put anything into cabinets or closets or drawers for a very long time. I just kept living out of my backpack. I was afraid of leaving anything in my apartment-- usually leaving any possessions anywhere meant saying goodbye to them. I was afraid of being alone in my tiny studio apartment so I would have friends over every night.

There was times I wouldn't leave my apartment for days on end, especially when I started owning possessions that I had to leave behind and couldn't carry everything on my back anymore. I can't remember a time I owned enough possessions that I couldn't fit them all into a tote box and backpack. It was an entirely foreign experience.

People kept congratulating me and yet no one gave me any help with getting basic necessities for my apartment. Every pot and pan I own is scratched to shit and found free on the road, akin to all my mismatched dull knives and friend's hand-me-down towels. It was a pat on the back while I was still out there drowning.

People kept congratulating me and still my friends, my family, were on the streets dying. Acting like I should be proud to "overcome" while the system still hurts us all. My friends are still dying. Our whole community is grieving all the time. I feel guilty to just be alive.

That's not even touching the start of processing the trauma I experienced while unhoused. They say you don't start to process shit til you're safer and it hit like a tidal wave.

I had never felt like that before getting off the streets. And I wasn't and am still not in stable housing. I can't even imagine what stable housing would look like, let alone how tryna process that would be like. It is such a raw and vulnerable experience to come fresh out of homelessness and then be thrown into a world you've never known.

So many people think JUST housing is the answer when it simply is not. We need supportive services, we need community support, we need to be cared for and looked after. We need places to go for holidays and people to be our emergency contacts. We need financial help and support that money can't buy. We need real love, we need to be held by our community and uplifted to where we all can thrive.

#chronically couchbound #stories from the shelter #homelessness #homeless #unhoused #actually homeless #housing insecurity #housing #landlords #affordable housing #cost of living #housing crisis #houselessness #houseless #homelessness is trauma #long term homelessness #ptsd #trauma #cptsd #homeless youth #eviction #poverty #low income #chronic homelessness #chronically homeless #disabled and homeless #homeless trans youth #homeless statistics #homeless crisis #homeless shelter

[knowledgevariabledarcy]

#homeless crisis #homeless artist #homeless people #homeless shelter #homeless youth #Youtube

[supportingeducation]

Homeless Students Have Rights

Homeless students have rights with regards to their schooling, and everyone should know them. These rights are federally protected. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (MVHAA) was the first substantial federal legislation to address homelessness, and it was passed in 1987, under President Reagan. The original act had little to say about children – they weren’t part of the public…

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#federal rights #homeless students #homeless youth #McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act

[gwydionmisha]

No, Washington Did Not Just Pass a Law Allowing the State to Kidnap and Transgenderify Children

#Washington State #Trans Youth #Gender Affirming Care #Homeless Youth #News

[grady70]

Terre Haute Indiana

mbrazfield (c) 2023 here are wethe older youngsfree we are in cages of deceitroaming their streetscoordinates34.043926, -118.242432live hear in death dailyhung tooth bad fingerblue the deal of songwe hum in hallucinationsgood feet bad pathlay at your door stepcardboard deluxepopulation densein invisibilityafterglow of probabilitysellingtakingsmugglinggapingpuffing away social securityfor us the…

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#Addiction #DTLA Skid Row #Homeless Youth #The Cecil Hotel

[childwelfareworker]

Breaking into the Field

Even in high school, I always knew that I wanted to work with people which was kind of weird because I was extremely anti-social, but I loved helping people.

Growing up I wanted to be a pediatrician, but quickly realized I didn't like math, science, or even school for that matter. That dream was quickly replaced with wanting to be a public defender.

I went to college for Criminal Justice and realized, again, the amount of school that was required to be a lawyer. Made it to my senior year in college and still had no idea what I wanted to do.

I was late applying for an internship and was kind of just thrown into a non-profit; however, I was grateful that the nonprofit aligned with something I grew to become interested in.

I, along with about 20 other college kids, was responsible for chaperoning field trips for children to go and visit their incarcerated mothers. During this internship I met my mentee and she was about 10 years old. This was approximately 15 years ago and we have been stuck at the hip ever since.

I completed the internship, graduated undergrad, and was offered a part-time position as the program coordinator. I stayed with the company for approximately 1 year before I realized why the nonprofit couldn't keep employees.

I left that agency and pursued by Master's degree (look at me going BACK to school). After obtaining my master's degree, I started working at a group home that housed youth ages 12-21 years old. I was just beginning my career as a child welfare worker, and man has it been a wild ride.

#child welfare #foster care #nonprofit #social work #group home #homeless youth

[venusinorbit]

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A new art installation at the Hawaii State Arm Museum is showing the strength of homeless youth in the state.

The exhibit is called “Not All Backpacks Carry the Same Weight.”

It features 60 backpacks designed by youth who are struggling with homelessness. On the bags are written phrases, colors and adornments reflecting the artists’ personal journeys, struggles and dreams.

The exhibit was created through the Residential Youth Services & Empowerment program, also known as “RYSE,” and done in collaboration with Moanalua High School’s English honors classes.

It was also led by international artist Fatiha Kheddaoui and Dominique Meyer Gere.

Organizers said the exhibit aims to shed light on the urgent issue of youth homelessness in the community.

The installation began Saturday and runs through June 5.

#hawaii #homeless youth #homelessness #not all backpacks carry the same weight #art exhibit #honolulu #art installation #hawaii state arm museum #ryse #residential youth services & empowerment #moanalua #fatiha kheddaoui #domninique meyer gere #artivism #art therapy