Article by Natalie Kouba

When hardship hits home, it can be difficult to ride out the storm. Some young adults and children decide their best option is to abandon ship and leave their families altogether, while for others, it is the only alternative. Either way, many youth nationwide are faced with homelessness each year, and look for the anchor to keep them grounded — that is what Anchor House aims to do.

Since 1978, the Anchor House in Trenton has provided a safe haven for not only the youth in Mercer County, but across the country, ensuring “a safe place to rest; wait through the storm while in crisis and a way to move on when the crisis is calmed,” according to the Anchor House website.

In Mercer County last year, 303 people under the age of 18 were reported homeless, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  Of that group, 117 children who were homeless were between the ages of 7 and 17, and 186 were six-years-old or younger.

The Anchor House aims to provide opportunities for the futures of young adults through temporary housing and long-term support.

Through five different programs, youth can find the resources and support they need, respective to their appropriate ages. From newborns to 21-year-olds, the Anchor House opens its doors to anyone who walks by.

“They can just walk in,” said June Albanowski, director of Children & Youth Services. “So they can just ring the bell, and, you know, they can come that way. Or they can call us.”

The Anchor House is available 24/7 to ensure that help is provided whenever needed. Anchor Link, the Anchor House’s street outreach program, is a drop-in program for youth 14 to 21-years-old where they can find day-to-day relief, such as eating and showering, but is also designed to assist in strengthening life and career skills.

While the Anchor Link program does not provide housing, most of the other programs that they offer are 30-day shelters.

For the especially young children, Angel’s Wings takes in those who have faced many potential issues, ranging from neglect to abuse to behavioral problems. Newborns to 12-year-olds are welcomed into foster homes until a permanent home can be arranged.

At the Anchor House Shelter youth from 10 to 17 are housed. While it only is a 12-bed program, the staff will never turn a child away, but instead, find an alternative housing situation.

Youth gain a sense of support and purpose, at the Shelter, where it may have been lacking elsewhere. Over the course of the 30-day transitional program, these children become much more than guests.

“It is a home for them, so, you know, it’s not institutionalized,” Albanowski said.

The youth at the shelter are given a temporary release from the stresses they face, and actually have fun during their stay. Staff members assure they get to school, and even try to keep them in their own school districts, but take them on recreational and educational trips in their free time. Volunteers also work closely with the youth to tutor them and teach them about their own hobbies.

The staff and youth form friendships as well and regularly go to the local park for a game of basketball, on roller-skating outings, to the movies and even the Great Adventure theme park.

Community service is also a valued part of the program. Staff members take youth to the soup kitchen or nursing homes to lend a hand to the community which has helped them.

“We believe it is important for them to give back to the community as well and not just be recipients of service and that they are able to do things for others,” Albanowski said.

The Anchor House programs are intended to serve as temporary shelters and try to reunite youth with their families as soon as possible, when possible.

Individual, family and group counseling sessions are held weekly at the Shelter to try and knead through any communication rifts and mend gaps.

From runaways to youth who have faced abuse, neglect or homelessness, some have not only been able to get themselves out of troubling situations, but have excelled beyond what they thought was possible.

The Anchorage program, which currently only has six young adults, helps them work toward independence. Here, the young adults learn about becoming self-sufficient in their careers and finances. They gain valuable skills in communication, personal health and wellness, time management and budgeting.

From graduating high school to moving into a college dorm, the Anchor House prides itself in the success of their youth.

“One went to Rutgers … some of them even live on campus, so they transition out from our program and might go to college full- time,” Albanowski said. “That, I think, is a real success story. Some of them even say that if it weren’t for our program, they wouldn’t be in that situation.”

Anchor House Shelter, School Outreach Program (609) 396-8329

Anchorage Transitional Living Program (609) 989-1625

Anchor Link Street Outreach Program (609) 218-5630

Anchor Line (609) 218-5630

www.anchorhousenj.org

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2013 Issue of The Wall Newspaper

Article written by  David Sanchez

Every year in the United States, thousands of homeless LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer) youth live in the shadows, burdened with discrimination and hatred from family and strangers.

A recent study conducted by the Williams Institute found that over 40 percent of homeless, American youth identify within the LGBTQ community.

This astonishing number lends itself to numerous issues faced in the perceptions of LGBTQ youth. The study cited the leading cause of LGBTQ youth homelessness was rejection by family due to gender identity or sexual orientation. Gender identity refers to whether an individual identifies themselves as either male, female, transgender, or somewhere not restricted by the gender binary of male or female; while sexual orientation refers to sexual or romantic preferences of an individual.

Being forced out of home is not the only reality faced by many LGBTQ youth. The study states almost 35 percent will fall victim to sexual, physical or emotional abuse. This leads to a greater dilemma, for the choices are either to stay in a violent or abusive home or to run away and take the chances of survival on the streets.

In Trenton alone the resources needed to combat homelessness are scarce, and even more scarce are safe places where LGBTQ individuals can survive without the threat of violence or rejection.

So what fuels anti-LGBTQ sentiment? It does not take long to find hateful and inaccurate representations of the queer community in media. For clarification, queer is an umbrella term used for the LGBTQ community — it was a slur once used against the community to incite hatred, but in recent years has been reclaimed as a term of empowerment.

By turning on the television, it is quick to see episodes of “Jerry Springer” or “Maury” titled, “Tranny Lover,” “Wild Trannies,” or even “My Gay Brother Stole My Boyfriend.” Television shows often depict transsexual and transgender women as prostitutes looking to trick men in an effort to emasculate them. At the same time, gay men are stereotyped as hyper feminine and weak, and often do not have roles other than sassy friends with quick one-liners.

New television shows have given queer individuals a safe space to exist in broadcasting. Shows such as “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Orange is the New Black” introduce viewers to powerful transgender women.

Laverne Cox, who stars in “Orange is the New Black,” is making national headlines as a powerful actress who is transgender. Because of her new found fame, she has been able to speak to the nation through magazines and other publications on the ability for transgender people to surpass the low expectations held on them by society.

Representation of queer individuals is vital because it is dehumanizing for many when they cannot see themselves on the television screen — that is past the role of either a prostitute or accessory.

Despite the newfound representation of queer individuals in media, violence is still a very real threat against them.

Several studies, as well as one conducted by the Human Rights Campaign, found that one in every 12 transgender individuals will be killed in the United States. In a classroom of 25 kids, that would mean that two of them would be killed because their gender identity does not match the sex they were born into.

There are agencies looking out to curb the violence and tragedy in the queer community in Trenton.

The Triad House is a nonprofit home dedicated to providing a safe place for queer youth. Although the home is funded by the state, it also accepts private donations in order to provide for its occupants. One of these donors is The College of New Jersey’s PRISM group.

PRISM hosts an annual drag show to raise money that will directly benefit the Triad House. Because of the services that the Triad House provides, it is not uncommon to see drag performers or other members of the queer community put on charity events to keep funds flowing into the home.

This past year, PRISM’s event raised several hundred dollars for the Triad House.

As the perceptions surrounding queer youth become more accepting, it is hopeful that the rate of homelessness for this population will decline.

The key method to combat these negative perceptions is to face them head on. Children need to be educated that being gay or transgender does not define who they are as an individual. Just as well, learning that one’s son or daughter is a homosexual does not constitute violence or for them to

be forced out of their home.

When I came out to my father, I was terribly afraid that he would reject me and that made me keep part of my identity hidden from him for years.When I finally came out he said, “You are the son I raised and I will love you no matter who you love.”

When hate is removed from the picture, when love is the motivator behind our actions, we do not have a need for suffering.

Triad House (LifeTies)

1301 W. State Street Trenton, NJ, 08618

(609) 394-6747

Article was originally published in The Wall Fall 2013 edition.