Casa Ruby’s services must survive
Taking over as receiver will not be an easy task. Crenshaw will have to unravel the mess that is there now. The receiver will have to face the fact money may have been stolen and deal with employees who weren’t paid. They will have to deal with the fact, which now seems clear, that Casa Ruby was out of compliance with the District Non-Profit Corporations Act.
A judge approved putting Casa Ruby into the hands of a receiver and approved the D.C. Attorney General’s recommendation of the Wanda Alston Foundation, of which June Crenshaw is the executive director. She is an amazing person. Founded in 2008, according to its website “the Wanda Alston Foundation provides housing and support services for D.C. homeless and at-risk LGBTQ youth ages 18 to 24 and advocates for expanded city services for LGBTQ youth.”
Taking over as receiver will not be an easy task. Crenshaw will have to unravel the mess that is there now. The receiver will have to face the fact money may have been stolen and deal with employees who weren’t paid. They will have to deal with the fact, which now seems clear, that Casa Ruby was out of compliance with the District Non-Profit Corporations Act.
Wanda Alston Foundation chosen as Casa Ruby receiver
A D.C. Superior Court judge on Friday, Aug. 12, appointed the Wanda Alston Foundation as the city’s receiver for the LGBTQ community services center Casa Ruby in a role in which the Alston Foundation will assume full control over Casa Ruby’s operations and finances.
A D.C. Superior Court judge on Friday, Aug. 12, appointed the Wanda Alston Foundation as the city’s receiver for the LGBTQ community services center Casa Ruby in a role in which the Alston Foundation will assume full control over Casa Ruby’s operations and finances.
Judge Danya A. Dayson stated in an order she issued at 2:27 p.m. on Friday that she appointed the Alston Foundation for the receivership role at the recommendation of the Office of the D.C. Attorney General, which asked the judge to place Casa Ruby in receivership in a court motion filed on Aug. 3.
Founded in 2008, the Wanda Alston Foundation provides housing and support services for D.C. homeless and at-risk LGBTQ youth ages 18 to 24 and advocates for expanded city services for LGBTQ youth, according to a statement on its website.
Among those who spoke at the Aug. 11 hearing was June Crenshaw, the Wanda Alston Foundation’s executive director. Crenshaw told the judge her organization has long supported the mission of Casa Ruby and it was prepared to do all it could to continue that mission in its role as receiver.
“The mission of the Wanda Alston Foundation is to eradicate homelessness and poverty for LGBTQ youth between ages 18 and 24, the group states on its website. The statement adds that the Alston Foundation seeks to accomplish that mission by advocating for LGBTQ youth by “providing programs including housing, life skills training, case management services, linkages to medical care and mental health care and other support services, support in staying and returning to school, and employment support.”
Wanda Alston Foundation Named Receiver for Casa Ruby
The D.C. Attorney General’s Office has named the Wanda Alston Foundation as the receiver for local LGBTQ nonprofit, shelter, and community center Casa Ruby, which has come under investigation for alleged financial mismanagement.
The D.C. Attorney General’s Office has named the Wanda Alston Foundation as the receiver for local LGBTQ nonprofit, shelter, and community center Casa Ruby, which has come under investigation for alleged financial mismanagement.
June Crenshaw, the executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, told Metro Weekly in an interview that she would be seeking to find a lawyer to represent Casa Ruby as the issues concerning the organization’s finances and nonprofit status are worked out.
She also noted that the Wanda Alston Foundation would be consulting experts on how to perform forensic examinations of Casa Ruby’s finances and determine best practices for receivers while being transparent about its actions or decisions in order to restore trust in the organization.
“We are tasked with determining whether there are any assets remaining at Casa Ruby,” Crenshaw said. “And after that determination, we will need to look at how to pay creditors, pay outstanding paychecks to employees, see if there’s some option to satisfy our debt with landlords, and just assess the landscape of the financials, including what resources are available, whether government grants may be stopped because of some compliance issue that we could easily satisfy. That’s the first part.
“The second part is to make a determination, based on that information, whether the programs can be stood up again, whether Casa Ruby can start serving clients, providing housing, and serving all of the folks that they’ve served over the many years, those very vulnerable members of our community who are going without services right now. It’s important for us to figure that out. And if that is the case, then we have to figure out how to identify a board and activate the board again.”
Homeless Youth Want To Work, But Advocates Say Programs Designed To Help Them Lack Critical Support – DCist
There are myriad reasons workforce development may not work for potential participants. That’s particularly true for youth experiencing homelessness, according to June Crenshaw, executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, an organization serving homeless LGBTQ+ youth. Programs do not necessarily lead to jobs that will pay a livable wage, and young people experiencing homelessness generally can’t afford to sit in training sessions they aren’t being paid for. Even if youth make the tough decision to forgo weeks of pay in hopes of job development, they may not be welcomed — over 40% of youth experiencing homelessness in D.C. are queer, and they often report experiencing discrimination and harassment in the workplace, according to Crenshaw.
While D.C.’s workforce development options are available to all residents — including 16- to 24-year-olds — many young people experiencing homelessness say the available programs don’t take their specific needs for logistical and emotional support into account. In response, youth advocates are pushing for a specific workforce development program that would target youth experiencing homelessness.
Across the country, youth experiencing homelessness have a markedly high unemployment rate, with an estimated 75% unemployed, compared to 16% of housed youth. Many of the same challenges that can prevent youth experiencing homelessness from finding a job can also prevent youth from completing a workforce development program: not just the lack of housing and a permanent address, but also little or no access to transportation, the internet, professional clothing, and a support network.
There are myriad reasons workforce development may not work for potential participants. That’s particularly true for youth experiencing homelessness, according to June Crenshaw, executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, an organization serving homeless LGBTQ+ youth. Programs do not necessarily lead to jobs that will pay a livable wage, and young people experiencing homelessness generally can’t afford to sit in training sessions they aren’t being paid for. Even if youth make the tough decision to forgo weeks of pay in hopes of job development, they may not be welcomed — over 40% of youth experiencing homelessness in D.C. are queer, and they often report experiencing discrimination and harassment in the workplace, according to Crenshaw.
Queer young people experiencing homelessness often feel they’re not hired because of their gender and sexual identity, Crenshaw said. If they are hired, they can find themselves in an environment where colleagues make derogatory or aggressive comments with no repercussions. Discriminatory treatment in the workplace, in turn, can trigger rejection-related trauma, or just plain anger, according to Crenshaw. And that has consequences.
“If any of our kids have one bad day, it could mean the end of a job for them,” said Jorge Membreño, deputy executive director at SMYAL, a local organization serving queer youth at risk of homelessness.
Without government support, advocates say private organizations have to step up to hire and mentor youth experiencing homelessness. While Membreño said he works with a lot of employers on partnerships, he singled out the efforts of Capitol Hill’s new queer space and bar, As You Are, as an especially promising model. The owners reached out to SMYAL and the Wanda Alston Foundation about hiring from the LGBTQ+ community, and they are hoping to provide employees with skills that will be useful in future jobs.
Out & About Calendar: June 25-July 1 — Blade
LGBTQ+ youth are invited to join thousands of youth from across the country for the NYC Youth Pride 2021 Watch party at 3 p.m. at the Eaton D.C. This free event will be hosted by the Wanda Alston Foundation in collaboration with NYC Pride. The event includes refreshments, DJ, and streaming entertainment from NYC Youth Pride. Youth up to age 24 admitted. To save a spot, visit Eventbrite.
LGBTQ+ youth are invited to join thousands of youth from across the country for the NYC Youth Pride 2021 Watch party at 3 p.m. at the Eaton D.C. This free event will be hosted by the Wanda Alston Foundation in collaboration with NYC Pride. The event includes refreshments, DJ, and streaming entertainment from NYC Youth Pride. Youth up to age 24 admitted. To save a spot, visit Eventbrite.
Once homeless, he’s why trans men of color will soon get their own housing program in D.C. — The Washington Post
June Crenshaw sees those who fall into the latter category. She is the executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, which has long provided housing to at-risk LGBTQ youth in the District.
On the same day I met Williams, I spoke with 12-year-old Laton Pfeifer Hicks, whose Maryland community of Woodmoor has a group of residents dedicated to making the neighborhood more inclusive. This year, for the first time, the neighborhood raised a pride flag on the community’s flagpole and held a pride parade. Laton, who identifies as LGBTQ and uses the pronouns they and them, spoke at both events.
“In an ideal world, Pride Month would not need to exist,” Laton tells me when we talk. “People who are part of the LGBTQ community would be treated as everyone else.”
The seventh-grader describes feeling free from a young age to discuss gender and sexuality but also recognizes not every family is supportive, not every neighborhood is embracing.
“We need to remind people that the fight is not over,” Laton says. “It’s still very much ongoing. We need to persist because these are human lives and human rights we’re fighting for.”
To hear the Maryland preteen talk is to feel hopeful about what can happen when people are accepted, no matter their gender or sexuality or religion or weight or disability (add whatever descriptor you want to that list). But to only bask in the inspiring examples is to ignore that within the LGBTQ community, there remains economic, geographic and racial divides that can make the difference between sleeping safely in a familiar bed and begging for borrowed space.
Neighborhood residents and friends gather ahead of the first Woodmoor Pride parade on June 6. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)
June Crenshaw sees those who fall into the latter category. She is the executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, which has long provided housing to at-risk LGBTQ youth in the District.
Crenshaw credits Williams, who serves as the operations director for the organization, with seeing the need for housing and programming that focuses specifically on transgender men of color in the city. She describes the system that exists as not working for them and too often leaving them out of conversations, even when those conversations are about them.
The hope for the new housing, she says, is that it will allow the men to address their mental health needs and other challenges and leave connected to a job, a support system and a community, so they can eventually find and afford their own homes.
The organization has so far secured two apartments and is looking through applications to decide who gets them. Eight applications already have come in and more are expected. The staff hopes to choose two people by the end of the month.
“This is a pilot program,” Crenshaw says. “It’s starting small, but our hope is to expand it. The need is there, and we’re hoping that we will be able to expand this and provide long-term programming around it.”
Alston Foundation to open first D.C. housing program for trans men of color — Blade
The D.C.-based Wanda Alston Foundation, which since 2008 has provided transitional housing for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness, has announced it will open in June the first-ever D.C. housing program for transgender men of color.
The D.C.-based Wanda Alston Foundation, which since 2008 has provided transitional housing for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness, has announced it will open in June the first-ever D.C. housing program for transgender men of color.
In a May 25 statement, the Alston Foundation says the new facility, called Renita’s, will be a two-bed, two-year transitional housing program focused on serving trans men of color.
“No other housing program for youth or adults in Washington specifically addressed the needs and challenges uniquely faced by transgender men of color,” the group says in its statement.
“We know that transgender and gender-nonconforming folks face additional barriers to obtaining safe and supportive services and housing,” said Alston Foundation Executive Director June Crenshaw.
“We also know that trans men are often forgotten or neglected when services are being developed,” Crenshaw said in the group’s statement. “That is why we are thrilled to be able to focus one of our programs directly where it is needed the most.”
Opinions: DC LGBTQ Budget Coalition’s priorities must be addressed — Blade
Local non-profits, HIPS, SMYAL, the Wanda Alston Foundation, Casa Ruby, and many other organizations, provide critical resources to support at-risk individuals to ensure they have basic human resources to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. These non-profits also provide essential services throughout the year to uplift individuals at all stages of life, and fight to combat hate crime rates in the District.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, nonprofit entities have played a pivotal role in supporting the most vulnerable Washingtonians, especially LGBTQ+ and trans/non-binary individuals in the region. According to the CDC, LGBTQ+ people have higher rates of underlying health conditions associated with a more severe COVID-19 response, which are especially prevalent among our Black and Brown communities.
Furthermore, the transgender and non-binary community has faced uniquely disproportionate vulnerability to severe short- and long-term health risks associated with COVID-19. Beyond COVID-19, 38% of the District’s homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+, and we have the highest per capita hate crime rate of any major city in the country. LGBTQ+ seniors are two times more likely to face social isolation and 41% of trans seniors are reported to have attempted suicide.
Local non-profits, HIPS, SMYAL, the Wanda Alston Foundation, Casa Ruby, and many other organizations, provide critical resources to support at-risk individuals to ensure they have basic human resources to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. These non-profits also provide essential services throughout the year to uplift individuals at all stages of life, and fight to combat hate crime rates in the District.
Out & About Calendar: Jan. 8-14 2021 — Blade
The Wanda Alston Foundation hosts its first virtual fundraising event supporting LGBTQ youth tonight at 7 p.m. Tiered donation tickets are available via Eventbrite. The evening event includes stories, entertainment and an auction all to support the foundation’s efforts to eradicate LGBTQ youth homelessness in DC. Visit wandaalstonfoundation.org for more information.
The Wanda Alston Foundation hosts its first virtual fundraising event supporting LGBTQ youth tonight at 7 p.m. Tiered donation tickets are available via Eventbrite. The evening event includes stories, entertainment and an auction all to support the foundation’s efforts to eradicate LGBTQ youth homelessness in DC. Visit wandaalstonfoundation.org for more information.
LGBTQ agencies support vulnerable youth this holiday season — Blade
Wanda Alston Foundation Executive Director June Crenshaw said their mission is to improve the lives of LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness, and noted reduced public transportation routes due to the pandemic disproportionately impact minority youth trying to get to work.
D.C.-based agencies that support LGBTQ youth such as SMYAL and the Wanda Alston Foundation saw an increase in service requests as part of the pandemic’s economic fallout, as did agencies throughout the region.
“There definitely has been an increase in the demand for our services because of more young people staying at home in situations that are not affirming to their truth and identity,” Adalphie Johnson, the SMYAL programs director, said.
Wanda Alston Foundation Executive Director June Crenshaw said their mission is to improve the lives of LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness, and noted reduced public transportation routes due to the pandemic disproportionately impact minority youth trying to get to work.
Korean Davis, an 18-year-old Black trans woman living in transitional housing because living at home with her mother “is not an option,” struggles to maintain work at a make-up stand where “ignorant people,” including her supervisor, misgender her.
Her dream is to go to beauty school and work for herself.
“My holiday is a complete disaster,” she said. “No one has called to check on me. I feel like I don’t have anyone but the people at Baltimore Safe Haven, and they can only do so much. I feel like I am falling apart.”
Unfortunately, Davis is not alone and her experiences are felt by other LGBTQ youth.
According to the Trevor Project, one in three Black LGBTQ youth said the pandemic made their living situation more stressful than before, and agencies in D.C., Maryland, Virginia and elsewhere have worked to meet the demand with limited funds.
“About halfway through the pandemic we had the COVID relief grant where we distributed over $45,000 for young people who were either homeless or at risk of homelessness,” Johnson said, speaking of social services funding SMYAL received through the CARES Act. “With those funds we assisted with phone bills, technology needs, rent, food, or utility bills, all which were needed directly as a result of the pandemic.”
LGBTQ activists appointed to new D.C. Police Reform Commission — Blade
The LGBTQ members appointed by Mendelson include Kent Boese, a Mt. Pleasant Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and current president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club; Jeffrey Richardson, former Stein Club president, former director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs under Mayor Vincent Gray, and founder and principal of Enspired Muse Coaching and Management; Sultan Shakir, executive director of the LGBTQ youth advocacy group SMYAL; and Kurt Vorndran, former Stein Club president, longtime member of the D.C. Police Complaints Board, and member of the board of the Wanda Alston Foundation.
The LGBTQ members appointed by Mendelson include Kent Boese, a Mt. Pleasant Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and current president of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club; Jeffrey Richardson, former Stein Club president, former director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs under Mayor Vincent Gray, and founder and principal of Enspired Muse Coaching and Management; Sultan Shakir, executive director of the LGBTQ youth advocacy group SMYAL; and Kurt Vorndran, former Stein Club president, longtime member of the D.C. Police Complaints Board, and member of the board of the Wanda Alston Foundation.
3 D.C. LGBTQ groups win city grants to address coronavirus — Blade
Crenshaw said the Alston Foundation would use the grant funds, among other things, to help ensure that its clients who live in two group homes in Ward 1 and Ward 7 have the proper training and equipment to protect against the risk of coronavirus infection. In addition to providing proper equipment for clients and staff such as face masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer, Crenshaw said the funds would be used to pay for professional deep cleaning of all rooms within the group homes.
The LGBTQ social services organizations Us Helping Us, Wanda Alston Foundation, and Casa Ruby were among 77 D.C. nonprofit groups to receive city grants last week totaling $3.6 million to help protect vulnerable populations from the coronavirus epidemic.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser approved the grants under the city’s HOPE Community Grants program, which is funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES Act, approved by Congress earlier this year.
“These HOPE grants acknowledge and support the critical role community organizations play in ensuring Washingtonians have the information and resources they needed to protect themselves and others,” Bowser said in a July 1 statement announcing the grants.
“I have said many times that we will get through this together, and I am grateful for all the nonprofits that are stepping up to stop the spread of the virus and keep D.C. residents safe,” the mayor said.
Us Helping Us, which provides services to the African-American LGBTQ community, and Casa Ruby, which provides emergency housing and social and health related services to LGBTQ people, each received grants totaling $50,000. The Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing and programming for LGBTQ homeless youth, received a grant totaling $41,800, according to its executive director June Crenshaw.
Crenshaw said the Alston Foundation would use the grant funds, among other things, to help ensure that its clients who live in two group homes in Ward 1 and Ward 7 have the proper training and equipment to protect against the risk of coronavirus infection. In addition to providing proper equipment for clients and staff such as face masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer, Crenshaw said the funds would be used to pay for professional deep cleaning of all rooms within the group homes.
QUEERY: Mick Bullock — Blade
The Front Runners have bumped their annual Pride Run 5k to Oct. 10 but they still wanted to do something for Pride month so they’re planning a virtual Run for Love June 13-22 in which they’ll raise money through $30 registration fees for local LGBT charities. Last year’s Pride run had 1,600 participants and raised $40,000. This year’s charities are the Wanda Alston Foundation, Casa Ruby, Teens Run D.C., The Blade Foundation, Ainsley’s Angels and the Team D.C. Scholarship Fund. Details at runforlovedc.com. Runners will submit times by June 21 and a virtual awards ceremony will be held online.
Mick Bullock ran off and on since high school but got more serious about it in the last few years since moving to Washington six years ago and joining the D.C. Front Runners.
“It’s an opportunity to put everything else aside and enjoy the outdoors,” the Columbia, Miss., native says. “Clear your head, put your phone down and enjoy the scenery. Especially in the summer with all the shirtless men.”
The Front Runners have bumped their annual Pride Run 5k to Oct. 10 but they still wanted to do something for Pride month so they’re planning a virtual Run for Love June 13-22 in which they’ll raise money through $30 registration fees for local LGBT charities. Last year’s Pride run had 1,600 participants and raised $40,000. This year’s charities are the Wanda Alston Foundation, Casa Ruby, Teens Run D.C., The Blade Foundation, Ainsley’s Angels and the Team D.C. Scholarship Fund. Details at runforlovedc.com. Runners will submit times by June 21 and a virtual awards ceremony will be held online.
Expenses up, income down for area LGBTQ nonprofits — Blade
June Crenshaw, executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, which among other things operates the Wanda Alston House for homeless LGBT youth in Northeast D.C., said the coronavirus outbreak has had an adverse impact on both the foundation’s finances and the nine youth who reside at the Alston House.
“Obviously, as a shelter we are essential and still open and doing business,” Crenshaw said, adding that new protocols had to be developed to ensure the safety of the staff and youth residing at the Alston House.
Like nonprofit organizations throughout the country, at least seven LGBTQ supportive nonprofit groups in D.C. that provide services for area youth and adults say the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted their fundraising efforts while increasing expenses, at least in part by prompting more people to come to them for help.
An informal survey conducted by the Washington Blade found that the local LGBTQ supportive groups Casa Ruby, Whitman-Walker Health, SMYAL, Wanda Alston Foundation, HIPS, and Food & Friends have experienced an increase in the number of clients reaching out to them for services.
At the same time, officials with several of the organizations have said restrictions put in place to curtail the spread of the coronavirus by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, including a ban on events that draw large numbers of people and the shutdown of hundreds of small businesses, some of which donated money to the LGBTQ nonprofits, have resulted in a drop in revenue for the groups.
June Crenshaw, executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, which among other things operates the Wanda Alston House for homeless LGBT youth in Northeast D.C., said the coronavirus outbreak has had an adverse impact on both the foundation’s finances and the nine youth who reside at the Alston House.
“Obviously, as a shelter we are essential and still open and doing business,” Crenshaw said, adding that new protocols had to be developed to ensure the safety of the staff and youth residing at the Alston House.
“Obviously our residents can’t go to school or go to work and so they may have to shelter in place,” she said. “And I think that isolation and being disconnected from friends and potentially having to stay in shelter longer is causing all kinds of stress.”
According to Crenshaw, 75 percent of the Alston Foundation’s revenue comes from city government grants, with the remaining 25 percent coming from private contributions from supporters. She said the coronavirus outbreak has resulted in a decrease of between 25 and 30 percent in private donations, in part because of the cancellation of planned fundraising events.
Crenshaw said the Alston Foundation was also among the large number of nonprofit organizations and small businesses that were unable to obtain a U.S. Small Business Administration payroll loan because of the initial internal delays at the SBA. She said the foundation obtained the loan, which is forgiven if used to pay employee salaries, in the second round of loans funded by Congress.
LGBT groups ask D.C. Council for millions — Blade
Eight groups united to submit the request — the ANC Rainbow Caucus, Capital Pride Alliance, The D.C. Center, GLAA, SMYAL, the Wanda Alston Foundation, Whitman-Walker Health and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington.
Activists have asked Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. City Council to consider allocating $17.6 million to LGBT-serving community organizations in the District’s 2021 budget, a more than 80 percent increase over what they unsuccessfully requested last year — $3.5 million — for the current 2020 fiscal year.
“These requests reflect and outline some of the unmet needs of the LGBTQ community,” SMYAL, one of the groups involved in crafting the request, said in a statement. “From hate crime reporting to housing for LGBTQ seniors to supporting the social needs of the community, the requests below have the support from a coalition dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of the LGBTQ community.”
Eight groups united to submit the request — the ANC Rainbow Caucus, Capital Pride Alliance, The D.C. Center, GLAA, SMYAL, the Wanda Alston Foundation, Whitman-Walker Health and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington.
PHOTOS: Transgender Day of Remembrance — Blade
The D.C. observance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance was held at the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington on Nov. 20. Speakers included Ms. Monroe Alise, Kymberly Gordon of Damien Ministries, Alphonso Davis of the Human Rights Campaign, June Crenshaw of the Wanda Alston Foundation and Tiara Moten of No Justice, No Pride.
The D.C. observance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance was held at the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington on Nov. 20. Speakers included Ms. Monroe Alise, Kymberly Gordon of Damien Ministries, Alphonso Davis of the Human Rights Campaign, June Crenshaw of the Wanda Alston Foundation and Tiara Moten of No Justice, No Pride.
Helping LGBTQ Youths Facing Homelessness — U.S. News & World Report
In her role as executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, a transition housing program serving homeless LGBTQ people ages 16 to 24 in Washington, June Crenshaw has seen firsthand how vulnerable queer youth are to homelessness, and how programs like hers can make a difference.
When the Washington, D.C., officials conducted its homeless youth census in 2017 with the nonprofit Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, they found nearly a third, or 31%, of the 394 unaccompanied homeless youths under the age of 24 identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer.
In her role as executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, a transition housing program serving homeless LGBTQ people ages 16 to 24 in Washington, June Crenshaw has seen firsthand how vulnerable queer youth are to homelessness, and how programs like hers can make a difference.
Homeless LGBTQ youths are more at-risk than other parts of the city's homeless population. "They become the target of hate crimes or bias crimes, they are more vulnerable to domestic violence and sexual assault, they are more vulnerable to drug use and sex work," she says. "Their vulnerability is much higher than their heterosexual counterparts."
In LGBTQ-focused programs, however, "sometimes these youths are seeing positive role models for the first time, and are able to congregate with other individuals that are like them, that have undergone the same journey," she explains. "And that's empowering, to connect with others that are experiencing something similar, and to be supported, and to support folks."
In an interview with U.S. News, she discusses the services Wanda Alston and other groups provide, why queer youth are more likely to become homeless and the resources the nation's capital needs to help the homeless LGBTQ youth population.
"On any given night, there's probably 200 to 300 individuals that are actually sleeping on the streets, or couch surfing, or trading sex for a place to live," Crenshaw says. "And the city has roughly 75 beds committed to this population. So we know that there's a big disconnect right there."
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Tell me a little bit about Wanda Alston. What does the foundation do?
We've been in operation since 2008. So we're in our 11th year of our program, we provide 18 to 20 months of transitional or group housing, or shelter to LGBT youth between the ages of 18 and 24, who are experiencing homelessness. We provide full wraparound services. So as soon as they join our program, we connect them to medical services, behavioral health, and mental health services. We support them around life skills development, so we will help them with learning how to write a resume, interviewing for a job, how to shop for food, how to prepare a meal, how to balance a bank account -- those types of life skills that are typically learned in the home. We also connect them to some support around either finding or maintaining work, or staying in school or returning to school. So our goal is essentially to stabilize them.
Why do LGBTQ homeless youth need their own shelters and housing programs?
There is a lot of hostility and discrimination that occurs, and that is directed at the community overall. The LGBT community is oftentimes under attack by society. That really trickles down to programs, creating services that really don't meet our needs. And so there are a number of youth that come to our facility from other agencies and organizations where they have reported to us that they've been attacked, or abused, or refused services, or kicked out, or that even the staff has encouraged other homeless individuals to attack them. They've been bullied and ostracized, particularly if we are talking about some of the faith-based organizations that are required to provide services to everyone that comes through their door but oftentimes don't provide those services in a culturally competent or welcoming way. We find that the most vulnerable individuals are trans men and trans women of color, gender nonconforming individuals.
What have you noticed about intersectional groups, such as trans youth or LGBTQ people of color, within the homeless population?
I would say that 99.9% of our youth (at the Wanda Alston Foundation) are black and brown. I would say probably 60-plus-percent are trans or gender non-conforming. D.C. has some of the most progressive and protective laws for LGBT folks. But there are multiple lived experiences in the D.C. area, there are very affluent individuals. And then there's a population of LGBT youth and mostly youth of color that has not had the same access to services, access to education, access to jobs -- really, a path out of poverty. Racism plays into that, particularly when you are dealing with a minority population, and there are cultural challenges with that. So, to deal with a society that is racist, or a society that is sexist, or a society that is really capitalistic or homophobic or transphobic -- you've got all those 'isms' to navigate through, without a system of support. I think it creates tons of obstacles, both emotional and literal challenges to them being successful.
Does Washington, D.C., have a bigger homelessness problem among LGBTQ youths than other parts of the U.S.?
D.C. has the highest number of LGBTQ individuals per capita. So, higher than New York, higher than Houston, higher than (cities in) California. … There's this huge disconnect around what services we can or are providing, and the services that are needed. I think our numbers are pretty consistent with other large cities. But what feels different is that we have less services and support for our LGBTQ folks. This is an affluent area that has a high number of LGBT folks here. And so, the fact that we don't have a coordinated response to the homelessness epidemic is not OK.
What do you think Washington needs to do better to help queer homeless youth?
I think that there are a patchwork of programs, and a coordinated effort by the city is needed to make sure that every not just youth, but every person that's experiencing homelessness is taken through a system of connecting them to resources. A piece of it is happening, but we've got a big epidemic here. There needs to be more resources and infrastructure and programming. … There has to be support and education and training for families around acceptance and love. There needs to be conversation with faith-based organizations on how to deal with and how to be welcoming to their LGBT congregation. In the city, there's just a lot that needs to happen that isn't happening.
Why do so many LGBTQ youth end up homeless?
The highest percentage is from family rejection. And there are youth living in rural areas, or areas in the country where they don't feel safe or seen or supported, so they leave those areas to come to the city and then find themselves not able to compete with jobs or pay the rent, and then they become homeless as a result of that. And then, there are individuals born into circumstances of poverty, or born into circumstances where parents are incarcerated or can't take care of them. But there's also some youth that say, aged out of foster care and find themselves homeless, so I think it's, it's a number of different paths, but overwhelmingly (it's because) the youth are rejected by their family.
How as working at the Wanda Alston Foundation affected you?
When I first started, I thought it was really important to spend a lot of time at the facility to learn from the youth, to learn from the staff that was there. To get a perspective that was different from someone coming from the corporate world and didn't know a lot of the process. And I had many conversations with the youths, one of which still sort of sticks with me. It was a young person of color, a woman, who said to me, "I have never seen someone like you before. I didn't know my own possibilities, because it's never been modeled."
And so I say, visibility matters. And particularly vulnerable black and brown trans and non-conforming LGBT youths need to see people like that -- that helps them to visualize a future for themselves. And so I feel like I learned a lot more about the community, more about the vulnerability, more about what I can do to make one person's life a little better.
Slain trans woman remembered at service — Blade
June Crenshaw, executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing and services for LGBT youth; and Charmaine Eccles, an executive assistant at Casa Ruby, a D.C. LGBT community services center that also provides housing and services for LGBT youth, each spoke of their interaction with Spears. They noted that Spears was a client of their respective organizations.
June Crenshaw, executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing and services for LGBT youth; and Charmaine Eccles, an executive assistant at Casa Ruby, a D.C. LGBT community services center that also provides housing and services for LGBT youth, each spoke of their interaction with Spears. They noted that Spears was a client of their respective organizations.
“She continued to drop by the Wanda Alston Foundation because she was loved,” said Crenshaw. “She was funny and sarcastic. She would send me emails in the middle of the night,” Crenshaw continued. “She had a plan. She taught me every day is an opportunity to live as yourself.”
Business of Pride: June Crenshaw — Washington Business Journal
June Crenshaw quit her job in 2012 to focus on her volunteer work as a member of the advisory board of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, chair of the board of Whitman-Walker Health and chair of the board of Rainbow Response Coalition.
June Crenshaw quit her job in 2012 to focus on her volunteer work as a member of the advisory board of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, chair of the board of Whitman-Walker Health and chair of the board of Rainbow Response Coalition.
Comic Hank Chen performs a stand-up set to raise money for the Wanda Alston Foundation
It’s why Chen agreed to perform stand-up at a fundraising tea dance for the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing and related support services to LGBTQ youth. The tea dance will also feature a musical performance by D.C.-area indie soul band Oh He Dead.
“Growing up in D.C. was hard,” says actor and comedian Hank Chen. “I went to a Christian elementary school, and when I entered sixth grade, I was called ‘gay’ or ‘fag’ every day. I remember thinking, ‘How long can I get through the day without hearing that word?’ I distinctly remember third period was the longest I could go without being name-called.”
Raised in a conservative religious household in the Glenmont-Silver Spring area, Chen’s upbringing and his naiveté about D.C.’s LGBTQ community left him deeply closeted throughout much of his college years. As such, he empathizes with struggling LGBTQ youth whose families kick them out.
“While I was never homeless or thrown out on the street, that certainly was a fear of mine,” he says. “So I have compassion for kids who find themselves in that situation. I know exactly what it’s like to feel unwanted in your own community, to disappoint your parents, to not live up to the expectations of the culture you were brought up in.”
It’s why Chen agreed to perform stand-up at a fundraising tea dance for the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing and related support services to LGBTQ youth. The tea dance will also feature a musical performance by D.C.-area indie soul band Oh He Dead.
“We’re thrilled with Hank’s involvement,” says June Crenshaw, executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation. “[He’s] been really super engaged and excited about coming back to the area, and we’re hoping we’ll be able to raise a lot of money for our work.”
Crenshaw says many of Wanda Alston’s clients often require additional services, including mental and behavioral health care, treatment for substance abuse, or life skills counseling. Providing those services can be expensive, so Chen hopes to draw in as many donors as possible with a witty, current, but decidedly “non-Beltway” routine.