So Avenues is a [COUGH] nonprofit here in the Twin Cities that has several housing programs for young people who are experiencing homelessness, so we have two site-based programs. So actual buildings, one in North Minneapolis and one in Brooklyn Park. The North Minneapolis house has 20 beds, the Brooklyn Park has 12. And then, we have some community-based programs, the host-home programs being [NOISE] examples of those. So the young people that come to avenues are between the ages of 16 and 24, depending on which program they're looking at. But we provide case management, and support services for youth and- >> We try to find stable housing. >> There you go. >> And navigate systems of oppression. >> Avenues in our site-based programs, and people are there. They get three meals a day, they can stay there as long as they're working on their goals and working with case managers and the youth counselors. And then, programs are entirely different. If we recruit, screen, train and support people in our communities who have an extra bedroom and then share their resources with gender queer people who are experiencing homelessness and like Kelly said the program and the program is more long term. So the average stay of a young person in the GLBTHost Home program is about a year. It could be more, could be less. So it's community-based grass roots, outside of the system. >> Right off the bat, the unfortunate truth is that there are a great deal of people who are not, I shouldn't say trained, but seem to not be able, for some reason or another, to really treat LGBTQ people the same as everyone else. So when a lot of folks are experiencing homelessness already as youth, the added pressure of possibly having been stigmatized within any system you approach, makes it much more difficult for you to access services. So as a gay or lesbian or bisexual, either transgender youth, you have a much more difficult time finding sustainable housing, being hired, and not being harassed in that workplace, not being fired in that workplace for your identification and orientation. And you also have a greater risk of violent being homeless on the street. A lot of people seek you out to assault you. And so, it's really necessary for the safety of the youth for them to have specific services. >> And one of the things that we've found too here in the Twin Cities is that we haven't creating housing programs that are agencies that work specifically with GLBT young people who are homeless. We've more gone the route of creating GLBT specific programs within homeless youth organizations. So that has worked fairly well within our communities, having those competent queer and trans specific programs within larger homeless youth organizations, as opposed to creating an entirely new organization that is queer and trans specific that needs housing. >> Cultural competency to work with populations that we're talking about within organizations. Like the competency of staff and administration seems to be lacking in terms of training and [COUGH] treating young folks as human beings, first and foremost, not as somebody who's different or not capable. >> In the added component, I think is that the majority of queer and transic people who do experience homelessness or longer period of time, our youth of color. So the competency around, certainly around queer and transic issues, but most of our private non-profits are led by really well-intentioned white folks and that hasn't really done much when it comes to racial justice issues, and really, really looking at those bigger systems of oppression. So I think, that's an ongoing conversation. And I think we have not figured out how to really dismantle, kind of a white supremacy operates here in the Twin Cities and then in Minnesota when it comes to social services. >> Yes. >> For example, we've been used for hers for a long time and we see what we've seen. And we seen white youths Who experience homelessness, get funneled into chemical dependency and mental health systems, and we've seen youth of color, particularly African-American youth, get funneled into the juvenile justice system. And then, later on, the criminal justice system. So that has a huge impact on the ability to find housing and employment later on. So that cycle is obviously complicated, and my liberalism isn't going to cut it. Well-intentioned my people provide services isn't going to cut it. So how do we truly look at how not just hope we live our lives, but how we work within our organizations are created. >> To create policies around intentions matching impact. Well, I think a great deal of people's intentions are positive, especially in the social services world, but oftentimes, due to, as cultural competency not being there. There are different programs that aren't really made for the people that are expected to utilize them, the systems that are in place in those programs aren't very easily accessible for folks who are not society. And for that, I think a lot folks will reach out to different communities of color, have a positive that the impact that they have and the way that they interacted with people, the way they communicate with people, the kind of services do available or not and the requirements around those services have a lot of phases elements. And so, the impact is harmful sometimes as opposed to positive. Whereas, if there's a deal of mindfulness realized, and best practice, and people are working together with other agencies, then you can raise a degree of cultural competence with training, staffing that really has people feeling a positive impact that matches the intention that someone has come forward with. So you have to have the research, you have to have the collaboration.
