DC LGBTQ Budget Coalition urges city to boost funding for queer programs
Among the LGBTQ and LGBTQ supportive organizations that are members of the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition are Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community, Capital Stonewall Democrats, the Wanda Alston Foundation, the LGBTQ youth advocacy group SMYAL, the sex worker advocacy group HIPS, the Washington AIDS Partnership, Us Helping Us, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA), the ANC Rainbow Caucus, Damien Ministries, and the Latin American Youth Center.
The D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition, which consists of at least 10 prominent local LGBTQ organizations and another nine LGBTQ supportive allied groups, is calling on Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council to include about a dozen specific programs in the city’s fiscal year 2024 budget that add up to about $13.5 million in funding.
Among the LGBTQ and LGBTQ supportive organizations that are members of the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition are Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community, Capital Stonewall Democrats, the Wanda Alston Foundation, the LGBTQ youth advocacy group SMYAL, the sex worker advocacy group HIPS, the Washington AIDS Partnership, Us Helping Us, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA), the ANC Rainbow Caucus, Damien Ministries, and the Latin American Youth Center.
Number of D.C. shelters serving LGBTQ homeless is growing
The Wanda Alston Foundation states on its website that it made history in 2008 when it opened D.C.’s first transitional housing program solely dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth ages 18 to 24 experiencing homelessness.
As part of that program, the foundation, named after the late and beloved LGBTQ rights advocate Wanda Alston, has since opened two more LGBTQ youth homeless facilities, including one that opened last year that also made history.
The Wanda Alston Foundation states on its website that it made history in 2008 when it opened D.C.’s first transitional housing program solely dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth ages 18 to 24 experiencing homelessness.
As part of that program, the foundation, named after the late and beloved LGBTQ rights advocate Wanda Alston, has since opened two more LGBTQ youth homeless facilities, including one that opened last year that also made history.
Referred to as Renita’s, it’s a two-bed, two-year transitional housing program believed to be the first known such facility focused specifically on serving homeless transgender men of color.
10 LGBTQ events this week
The Stonewall Kickball team Pitch Please hosts a Studio 54 dance party/fundraiser at The Dirty Goose Saturday night complete with dancing and drag performances. Proceeds are slated to help support the work of the Wanda Alston Foundation.
The Stonewall Kickball team Pitch Please hosts a Studio 54 dance party/fundraiser at The Dirty Goose Saturday night complete with dancing and drag performances. Proceeds are slated to help support the work of the Wanda Alston Foundation.
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.
Speaking Out to End LGBTQ Youth Homelessness — Human Rights Campaign
JUNE CRENSHAW (55, Executive Director of Wanda Alston Foundation): I am really looking forward to experiencing it with my 7-year-old granddaughter. She and I spend a lot of time at the National Museum of the American Indian, Air and Space, and Natural History. I can’t wait to see her reaction to touring the museum and being surrounded by history and people that look like her.
Every morning, thousands of LGBTQ youth wake up and begin their day without knowing where they will go to sleep that night.
Post submitted by June Crenshaw. Crenshaw is currently the Executive Director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, a transition housing program serving homeless LGBTQ people ages 16-24 in Washington, D.C. She also works as a business consultant for Coventry Health Care and has been on the D.C. Mayor's Advisory Board for LGBTQ Affairs since 2006.
On any given night in Washington, D.C., on the streets of the Nation's Capital, there are 200 to 300 LGBTQ homeless youth sleeping on sidewalks and weather grates and under bridges and overpasses. Despite the bone-chilling cold of winter and the suffocating summer nights, these young people are attempting to survive the overwhelming odds of the elements in a city that allocates only 75 beds to LGBTQ homeless youth. These youth are already facing heartbreaking marginalization, rejection and trauma solely because of their gender identity and sexual orientation. For over a decade, the Wanda Alston Foundation has been providing shelter and supporting LGBTQ youth ages 16 to 24 who are experiencing homelessness. In my four years of leading this organization, which provides life-saving and transformative services, I have never been more concerned about the future of our young people with the Trump-Pence administration proposing federal regulations to intentionally enable discrimination against LGBTQ youth in need and other vulnerable communities in federally funded programs.
Last month, the White House proposed nine federal regulations through federal agencies across the federal government that would permit federally funded programs to turn away LGBTQ people, women, religious minorities and other marginalized communities if they believe serving those groups--in the most basic of humane ways—goes against the program's religious or personal beliefs. This is a part of a three-year effort by the Trump-Pence administration to implement a license to discriminate on the supposed basis of religious freedom, despite failing to illustrate how religious beliefs are under attack by ensuring young people of all backgrounds have shelter.
Every morning, thousands of LGBTQ youth wake up and begin their day without knowing where they will go to sleep that night. Persistent levels of family rejection, bullying and discrimination and targeting at school contribute to unconscionable rates of homelessness and housing insecurity. Studies have found that as many as 40% of youth living on the streets or facing housing insecurity identify as LGBTQ. Systemic discrimination in employment, education and housing also increase the likelihood that these youth will remain homeless upon adulthood and therefore reliant on government programs. Transgender individuals face even higher rates of homelessness and poverty and are at even greater risk of experiencing violence either on the street or in a shelter.
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 non-conforming individuals.
The consequences of homelessness, particularly for LGBTQ youth, are far-reaching and can last a lifetime. Homelessness is harmful to mental and physical health and youth who are homeless are at an increased risk for sexual abuse and exploitation, chemical and alcohol dependency, social stigma and discrimination. These youth also experience lower levels of long-term educational attainment—placing them at an even greater disadvantage when they enter the job market. Forced to navigate young adulthood without critical family and social safety nets results in catastrophic consequences for economic stability, educational attainment and life expectancy.
Federally funded social service organizations provide critical resources and care for these youth when they are at their most vulnerable. The children and youth seeking help from these federally funded programs should be able to trust that they will be welcoming, culturally competent and client-centered. These proposed regulations will further empower providers to refuse to adequately serve LGBTQ youth and will sanction harmful discrimination against youth in care, seeking shelter services, and prospective foster and adoptive parents.
No LGBTQ youth should be refused taxpayer-funded assistance. No LGBTQ youth should be forced to compromise their identity or their own religious belief in order to receive taxpayer-funded services. Our LGBTQ youth, who are experiencing homelessness, have no one else to speak up for them if we do no choose to take a stand and demand from the federal government that these regulations are rejected and non-discrimination protections be put in place to ensure no young person is turned away from critical, life-saving services funded by taxpayers. Our humanity and integrity are at stake in this fight and we must not remain silent.
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.
