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GLBT Host Home Program

The GLBT Host Home Program is a volunteer and community based program. The program recruits, screens and trains adult volunteer mentors in the community to open their homes to homeless gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender youth ages 18 tp 22 (youth ages 16-17 are involved along with their family or guardians). Youth receive case management throughout their stay in the program and create positive healthy relationships with their adult hosts.

The GLBT Host Home Program is very simple. The goal is to identify adult volunteers from the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities or other sympathetic supportive adults to open up their homes and literally "host" a young person. This means providing transitional living support for a period of up to 2 years.

During their stay in their host home, this young person experiences living with and being supported by a stable adult, witnesses the give and take of living in a functional household, and experiences living in a situation where their sexual orientation or gender identity is completely accepted.

 

Program

The GLBT Host Home Program was developed our of a 1996 Wilder Research study that looked at the problem of GLBT homelessness in the Twin Cities. This community-wide effort involved youth and volunteers from nonprofit agencies and faith-based organizations. It resulted in a call to create the GLBT Host Home Program.

From its beginnings, the GLBT Host Home Program has been and remains volunteer and community-based. It is stewarded by an agency - in this case, Avenues for Homeless Youth - but it belongs to the community as a whole.

Volunteer hosts step forward from the GLBT and allied community. Funders from within the community and voluntarily give of their resources to keep the program alive (the program has not sought or received government funding). And the Advisory Council -- community agencies -- meets monthly to guide the program.

Here is how the GLBT Host Home Program works:

1. The program recruits, screens and trains adult volunteer mentors in the community to open their homes to homeless gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender youth ages 18-22 (youth ages 16-17 are involved along with their family or guardians). The goal is to have an average of 10 youth in host homes at any time. To do this, the program needs at least 20 host homes at all times. Recruiting new homes is an on-going activity, as hosts will serve for awhile, then need to take time off. This, five new homes must be recruited and trained every year.

Applicants to become hosts are carefully screened and must pass a background check. They receive extensive training on GLBT youth homelessness, negotiating with youth/young adults, resources in the community, boundaries, expectations and limit-setting negotiating racial and cultural differences, white privilege and anti-racism.

Once hosting a youth, the hosts receive ongoing, active support by the program coordinator in the form of phone calls, emails and meetings. We sponsor a monthly host support group. And we schedule monthly meetings at each home involving the youth, hosts, program coordinator and the youth's case manager.

2. Youth are referred to the GLBT Host Home Program from all over the community - Avenues, other youth-serving agencies, social workers, school counselors, treatment centers and faith-based organizations.

The referring case manager usually continues to provide case management to the youth person while living in the host home. This has many benefits for the young person, but also help maintain the communal ownership of the program.

3. The process of pairing youth and hosts is youth-driven. The youth get to say, "I want to meet this host and not that one." The youth take the lead in determining where they will live and with whom. This is important and very empowering. The youth are determinging their futures.

4. During their stay in a host home, the young person experiences living with and being supported by a stable adult or adults, witnesses the give and take of living in a functional household, and experiences living where their sexual orientation or gender identity is completely accepted.

While in host homes, youth have an opportunity to work on their goals without having to worry about food and shelter, with adults who are volunteering to open their homes.

Youth receive case management throughout their stay in the program and create positive healthy relationships with their adult hosts. They typically stay in host homes for up to one year, though longer stays have taken place.

 

 

 

 

Thank You Corner

On Sunday, August 23rd, Salon D'Pugh hosted another benefit to raise money for Kulture Klub and the GLBT Host Home Program of Avenues for Homeless Youth and the youth they serve. We are deeply appreciative of this effort and want to express our gratitude to Donna Pugh, Kelly Brazil, Blowtorch and the following bands, individuals and businesses who helped make the evening a huge success:

     -Harsh Reality, Vaudvillainous, Psycho Pathetic, Favela Rising, Faux Jean, Windowseat

     -Kimmy, Alex, Brian, Tim, John, Clayton, Marney, Deanna, Libby, Margo

     -Pizza Luce and The Leaning Tower of Pizza

On behalf of our staff and the youth we serve - Thank you!!

Hip Hop Against Homophobia, an awesome event which took place on June 13th at the Bedlam Theater, selected the GLBT Host Home Porgram, TYSN and Reclaim to share the proceeds from the evening. A special thanks to Jessica Rosenberg and all the artists who participated! It was a powerful night.

On June 27, also at the Bedlam Theater, the proceeds from the Dirty Queer Show went to the GLBT Host Home Program and TYSN. Kelly Brazil and Shannon Blowtorch were organizers, and they rocked the house, bringing in hundreds of folks!

The First Universalist Church selected the GLBT Host Home Program to be the recipient of their split-the-plate offerings for the month of June. Thank you Heidi Mastrud for helping make this happen and for helping to spread the word about our program.

On July 12th, the GLBT Host Home Program was presented with the Do Unto Others (SUO) Fund check from All God's Children -- Metropolitan Community Church. Their local outreach team chose the GLBT Host Home Protram as the June 2009 DUO Fund recipient and had a collection every Sunday during that month to raise money for the HHP. A special thanks to Johnny Hedgepeth for helping make this happen.

Also on July 12th, the GLBT Host Home Program Advisory Council hosted a picnic to show our appreciation for all the youth, hosts and youth advocates connected to our program. About 35 of us met at Hidden Falls (and they were indeed hidden) to eat, chat, and play games. A good time was had by all! A special thanks to Myrl, Ryan Li, Vi and Qamar for all the great energy they put into organizing this awesome event. As one of the youth put it when leaving, "We should do this more often!" Check out some of the pictures below.

As is always the case, the GLBT Host Home Program would not exist without its hosts and youth - our gratitude to them!