by Megan G.

For many youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT), there exists a very real fear of becoming a part of the homeless statistic. A large number of LGBT youth find themselves without homes due in part to emotional and physical abuse that cause them to choose between fight or flight. For some, being kicked out of their home is the unfortunate outcome of coming out.

A former student of The College of New Jersey who identifies as transgender recollects his struggles of coming out in a community with limited resources. No longer able to attend TCNJ due to being cut off by his family, he has faced ongoing emotional abuse due to his gender identity.

“There are scant resources available for LGBT homeless youth. The homeless shelters that accommodate the general population are associated with a high incidence of homophobia and transphobia…Additionally, these shelters are segregated by birth sex. As far as emotional support, I struggled this summer to find a trans-support groups that was near me in Central Jersey.”

This student recollects the experience of having to leave college:

“…my mom demanded to know from a campus cop-with hysterical stridency-the location of the nearest police station so that she could leave me there, because she didn’t want me anymore…So for days, I bounced around from friend to friend, to Philadelphia, certain that I had been forced into the streets. I had packed my bags without the intention of ever fully unpacking them again.”

The reality of his situation is not uncommon. According to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLT), 26% of LGBT youth who come out to their parents/guardians are kicked out of their homes. According to the National Center for Lesbian Rights, 30% of LGBT youth have experienced physical abuse from their families when coming out. The NGLT states that out of the 2 million youth who experience homelessness each year 1 in 5 or 20-40% identify as LGBT. Such statistics beg the questions, who and where can these youth turn to?

Many LGBT youth find themselves in the foster care system, where centers often have no policies against sexual orientation discrimination. The New York Task Force (NYTF) reports that 78% of LGBT youth run away from their placements or were taken out of their placements because of hostility towards their gender identity or sexual orientation.

In Central New Jersey, no concrete data or reports exist explaining the issue of LGBT homeless and run-away youth in the community; however that is not to say the issue does not exist.

Mercer County is fortunate enough to be home to one of the three LGBT group homes in the entire nation. Tamra Hooks, program director of LifeTies –Triad House, explains that the group home “provides housing…for LGBTQ youth between the ages of 14 and 18 who are victims of abuse, neglect and/or homelessness.” Hooks explains that “many youth are reluctant to identify as an LGBT youth making it impossible for their case managers to make a referral to an appropriate program such as ours.” If interested in finding out more, Hooks encourages the community to get involved. LifeTies seeks “to establish relationships with other organizations that are willing to help raise awareness regarding LGBTQ youth issues.”

The fact that the Triad House is only one of three group homes in the entire nation that offers appropriate services for LGBT youth shows the desperate need for more organizations like it.

It is further pertinent that foster care agencies and shelters/group homes better serve the homeless community by adopting policies of non-discrimination for LGBT citizens and youth. This is the only way we can begin to combat the issue of LGBT youth who find themselves in unsafe environments with no support, resources, or places to go to in times of desperate need.

Contacts for LGBT Youth in Central Jersey:

•LifeTies: Triad House http://lifeties.org/

609-771-4221 thooks@lifetiesinc.org

•Anchor House (609) 392-6100 info@

anchorhousenj.org

•HiTOPS http://hitops.org/

609-683-5155

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2011 edition of The Wall Newspaper.

by Chad Berman, translated by Paula Figueroa-Vega

Existen innumerables esfuerzos que se realizan en el área de Trenton con respecto a los refugios de emergencia alimentaria. Un sitio que me siento especialmente orgulloso de conocer es el East Trenton Center Food Pantry en Habitat for Humanity. El programa de donaciones de comida está dirigida por la fantástica Liz Leonard y sirve a la comunidad local de Trenton.

En este lugar se colecta comida y se despensa alimentos a familias necesitadas en el área. Ellos reciben donaciones de individuos, comerciantes, iglesias, y escuelas. El personal y los voluntarios utilizan un sistema muy complejo que determina quién recibe qué tipo de comida y cuanto reciben de acuerdo a la cantidad de identificaciones que los patrones proveen. Entre más identificaciones el patrón prove mas alimentos reciben, esto es un método utilizado para eliminar a aquellos que buscan limosnas. Liz es muy apasionada acerca del programa de comida, un hecho que he notado durante mi tiempo trabajando con ella.

Ella siempre está buscando voluntaries e incluso aprecia a aquellos que simplemente expresan interés en ayudar a la despensa.

La despensa está financiada por la Fundación Bonner y el Mercer Street Friends Food Bank y se ha convertido en un elemento básico en la comunidad. He visto un sinnúmero de clientes que vienen a través del centro a recibir donaciones de alimentos necesarios tal como los alimentos enlatados, frutas y verduras.

El East Trenton Center Food Pantry ha sido fundamental en la distribución de alimentos a los miembros necesitados de la comunidad, especialmente durante el huracán Irene y sus repercusiones. Trenton fue afectado severamente por Irene y la despensa de alimentos fue un gran éxito en la prevención de hambre durante las condiciones desesperadas que los ciudadanos de Trenton tuvieron que soportar. La despensa de comida fue realmente los únicos medios de conseguir alimento para la mayoría de los residentes, ya que el esfuerzo por el gobierno local y federal fue mediocre e hicieron muy poco para ayudar. La cocina está abierta lunes, martes, miércoles de 10am a 1pm y está cerrada la primera semana de cada mes. Las donaciones son siempre bienvenidas y muy apreciadas.

El Crisis Ministry de Princeton y Trenton es otro recurso valioso para la comunidad de Trenton. El ministerio acepta donaciones de alimentos de diversas organizaciones y clubes y los distribuye a las familias e individuos de bajos ingresos.

El Crisis Ministry incluso hace entregas a domicilio a los clientes, lo cual es un enorme recurso para aquellos que no tienen manera de llegar a la organización, ya sea debido a la falta de transporte o son físicamente incapaces de hacer el viaje. Crisis Ministries, así como el Habitat for Humanity Food Pantry, se han convertido en un element esencial en la comunidad de Trenton y continúan proporcionando alimentos durante emergencias a aquellos que lo necesitan desesperadamente.

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2011 edition of The Wall Newspaper.

by Kelsey Wojdyla

It all started in the basement of a Trenton church. The doors to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) first opened on January 13, 1982. They will be celebrating their 30^th anniversary in 2012.

The soup kitchen, now located on Escher Street in Trenton, launched its first ever endowment fund campaign in April 2010. TASK had set aside $500,000 from its general use endowment fund to support the campaign. They also received full participation from its staff members and board of trustees to raise a total of over $68,000. The campaign is being led by Mara Connolly Taft and Pete Taft, and is being coordinated by Irwin Stoolmacher.

Since its initiation, there have been 214 individuals, six foundations, and six companies who have contributed to Keeping The Bowl Full. As of October 2011, TASK has raised 61% of the $2 million goal. They are hoping to reach the goal by December 2012.

All campaign proceeds will be invested in a permanent savings account to ensure the future operation of TASK. Donations can be made in the form of cash, stocks, life insurance policies, annuities, and trusts.

The government provides less than 3% of TASK’s annual operating funds, even though it is the only soup kitchen in Trenton open five days a week. In its first year alone TASK served roughly 40,000 meals to the Mercer County community. That number has since more than quadrupled, with over 3,500 meals served every week.

TASK also offers free services to its patrons “to point them in the right direction,” says J Steinhauer, Community Relations and Development Program Assistant at TASK. This includes an on-site social worker who helps around 350 people each month, and the volunteer patron services office, which is in charge of all the food and hygiene drives.

TASK has also partnered with other agencies, such as Whole Foods and the Pennington Quality Market, to be able to give away fresh produce to its patrons.

In addition, the adult education program provides volunteer tutors in literacy, math, and computer skills. Dozens of students have used these skills to enter training programs, find employment and even attend college. In fact, there have already been nine students who received their GED since July.

Overall, the Keeping The Bowl Full campaign will substantially offset annual fundraising efforts. “We won’t have to fundraise as aggressively,” says Steinhauer. It will also allow TASK to continue supporting its own A-TEAM Artists of Trenton and the SHARE project for performing arts.

TASK is currently searching for a large venue to celebrate their 30^th anniversary and the success of their first campaign. This free event will take place in the summer of 2013 and will serve as an opportunity to give back to the community that has given them continuous support for all these years.

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2011 edition of The Wall Newspaper.

by DJ Josso-Martin

Jessica’s long journey as an independent homeless woman began approximately eight years ago upon the death of her mother. At only eighteen years old, Jessica found herself alone and with nowhere to live. Her only option was to move to Virginia, where she was able to stay with a friend. After six months of house hopping in an unfamiliar area, Jessica heard of Covenant House, a shelter in Washington DC for homeless youth. She took her one year old son and left Virginia.

Even with the help and resources she was receiving from Covenant House, Jessica found it exceedingly difficult to survive in Washington, DC. Pregnant again, she picked up her bags and left after another difficult year. Because she had an aunt in Newark who said she would help her out, she moved to New Jersey.

Finding it difficult to find a job at seven and a half months pregnant, Jessica made the decision to attend Drake College of Business. Here she attended programs in Dental Assisting and Microsoft Office 2007.

Things were going well until her newborn and youngest son got sick. He was hospitalized with bronchiolitis. He spent three weeks in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and two additional weeks in a standard hospital room. With unemployment pay, Jessica found herself homeless again, this time with her two sons.

Having been born and raised in Trenton, she contacted her aunt who lived in the area to try to find a place to stay. After staying there for a short while, she went to HomeFront. HomeFront was able to help her to get back on her feet. She now has a three bedroom house which she has been living in for a year, and she plans to move to another house in the next few months (after the lease on her current house expires) so that she can live closer to her son’s school. She is also currently seeking full-time employment.

Since she arrived at HomeFront, Jessica has been involved in the Art Space program. Art Space has taught her to use art, in the form of painting and poetry, as a way to express herself.

She recalls writing her first poem as an adult while waiting for the bus one day. She carries this meaningful verse with her wherever she goes, reciting it by heart:

“The world cannot define her words her inner beauty projecting outward her face with the likeness of a goddess her body built like a stallion the mother, the sister, the daughter, the sun, the earth Mother Nature at her best.”

Jessica aspires to become a published poet. She also hopes to write and publish an autobiographic account telling her life story. “I want the book to be me uncut,” Jessica states. She wants to do this, not only to express herself, but also to be a resource for others who may be enduring similar circumstances to those which she has gone through in the past.

When asked to provide words of wisdom for someone in a similar situation, Jessica responded saying “to not lose hope. Think of everything as a season, as a reason. I’m not perfect, but I am somewhat spiritual. And I do honestly believe that everything happens for a reason. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Your life is how it is meant to be, you just have to take every day one moment at a time. Nobody is promised tomorrow. Most importantly, just keep going. Everybody has a day when they just want to sit around a do nothing, but tomorrow get up and do something! Don’t sink into your depression. It’s never the end until it’s the end. Finally, never keep your mouth shut, ever. If you need it ask. I am always the first to say ‘I’m independent; I don’t need anybody.’ But people need people.

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2011 edition of The Wall Newspaper.

by Chelsea Lynne Sandmeyer

I knew a little girl so long ago. She was all of six and lived in a house nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

The windward slopes of the Appalachians had been her playground. Echoes of children’s voices answered her calls across the Roanoke Valley, for her little friends shared in her love of laughter and fun. She had everything a little girl could want: clothes, toys, books, and a room to call her own. Carefree and happy was that little girl so long ago.

How could everything so good, so wonderful, so happy, become so sad, so tragic, so quickly? What happened to this little girl so long ago?

The house…her house…no longer felt happy anymore. Gone was her father. Sad was her mother. Lonely was her house. Sad was her house. She lost her happy family. She lost her happy house. She had to give away nearly all of her toys and clothes and books. She said good-bye to her house. She said good-bye to her friends. This is how a girl of six thinks. I knew this little girl so long ago.

Where will I live and for how long? Will I ever see my old friends again? Why did I have to move so far away? How long will I sleep in my cousin’s house? Will Mommy always sleep on my cousin’s couch? Why must I move again? Why can’t I have my own room…or my toys…or my other things? Will Mommy sleep in my room from now on? Will I have to move once more? What happened to all of our furniture? Where is our couch…our cozy chair? What happened to all of our things? Where are they? These are the questions a girl of six asks. I knew this girl so long ago.

The little girl moved again and again and again. She had lived in four towns in two states, and she had been in three elementary, all within six months, all between kindergarten and first grade. Then she settled for a while, and she asked her mother about some things. Sadly, her mother could not bring back the toys and the books and the clothes…or the old friends, but her mother could give her back something she wanted the most, a room to call her own.

What happened to cause that little girl’s family such trauma? A know, but when the little girl grew older, she would come to understand these things. Such is the catastrophe of divorce. Such is the catastrophe of a single parent trying to find a new job in a new town. Such is the catastrophe of the parent losing a home while trying to find a temporary place to live…just for a little while…just until things get a little better.

When you lose your home, you are homeless. A little girl of six can not only tell you this, but a little girl of six can tell you how it feels.

How did she cope? What hope and comfort did she have? What could you say to this little girl of six?

This is what she would say. “Be thankful for family. Be thankful for friends. Be thankful if a kind stranger helps you. Someone out there can help you. Then someday, help someone else in return.”

I know this little girl so long ago. That little girl grew up to be me. Chelsea is currently a student at The College of New Jersey.

This article originally appeared in the Fall 2011 edition of The Wall Newspaper.