lgbt homeless

Locked in a Basement for Being Gay

June 22, 2013 By Brandon 3 Comments

A weekly post about what Lost-n-Found, a Homeless LGBT Youth organization in Atlanta, deals with on a daily basis. Names are removed to protect the youth.

From the Hotline for Homeless LGBT Youth:

2:37 PM: The Hotline gets a phone call from a gay youth who states that his mother has locked him in a basement because he’s gay. She left him his phone and a pop-tart.

Further investigation reveals that this 17-year-old has already been to the police. His situation at home was so bad that he ran away. (He is an African American youth and his family is Muslim and will not tolerate his sexuality.) [Read more…] about Locked in a Basement for Being Gay

Deaf, Gay, and Left Homeless By His Parents

June 13, 2013 By Brandon Leave a Comment

From the Hotline for Homeless LGBT Youth:

We hear a lot of youths’ stories on the HOTLINE and most would simply wretch your heart. This cry for help started out that way, but quickly turned to a positive.

We got a call from a gentleman that had run into a young man that he thought we could help. We asked that he give the youth our number and to have him contact us so that we could verify his story.

The youth could not call but could text because he is deaf. His mother had him declared mentally unstable and got him onto disability, so she could control the money. [Read more…] about Deaf, Gay, and Left Homeless By His Parents

LGBT Authors Coming Together for a Cause

June 4, 2013 By Brandon 2 Comments

It is a given that my blog is always open to authors who give back to the LGBT community, so it is a wonderful surprise when I come across a press and an entire group of authors who are as passionate about LGBT youth homelessness as I am. That they randomly chose one of the same charities that I donate to was well… Let’s just say I could use a lot of very positive emoticons here to display how happy I was. ~B.

Hi, I’m Kris Jacen, the Executive Editor for ManLoveRomance Press (gay romance/mystery/paranormals) and its two imprints, Passion in Print Press (traditional romance) and Featherweight Press (Young Adult and children’s stories). I’m also a mama. I have two beautiful daughters that, although they can try my patience, I can say that I love unconditionally. It won’t matter to me one wit if at some point one of them tells me that they love another girl or even if they think they maybe should have been a boy. They have brought immeasurable joy and love into mine and my husband’s lives. So I think it was the “mama” in me that reacted first when I was approached about LOST AND FOUND. [Read more…] about LGBT Authors Coming Together for a Cause

Learn a Little, Win a Free Book

May 29, 2013 By Brandon Leave a Comment

What does it take to get a gay kid off the street?

sue brown, author Today we’re talking about the parallels of homeless lgbt youth over on Sue Brown’s blog. She is an outstanding author, and advocate for homeless LGBT youth in the UK, helping to raise funds and awareness for the Albert Kennedy Trust.

Win a FREE copy of COLD

sinfully sex BR I’m also over at Sinfully Sexy Book Reviews talking with Monique. We’re offering a FREE copy of Cold, simply enter within the next two days to win a copy.

National Give OUT Day

May 9, 2013 By Brandon Leave a Comment

Today is National Give OUT day.

This is a national campaign designed to raise awareness and funds for local and national LGBT Organizations. As you know, here around the Shire we raise funds by donating 10% of the proceeds from our books to two organizations that work tirelessly to get homeless LGBT youth off the streets.

Both of these organizations are taking part in today’s event and you can donate to them at the links below. I would like to particularly emphasize that you take note of the Lost-n-Found page. On the right they have a donation list and it tells you exactly what just a few dollars can do and how much it can mean to a homeless kid.

Both organizations work toward the same goal, if you can, please give equally.

GLBT Advocacy & Youth and Lost-n-Found

Rejecting Your LGBTQ Child by Sue Brown

April 29, 2013 By Brandon 15 Comments

This is a special guest post by my friend and fellow author, Sue Brown. She shares my passion, as you can see below. ~B.

Who am I talking to here? Probably not the people who should be reading this. So let me tell you about me. I grew up just outside of London, England. Nice area, nice parents, nice school. Everything just ‘nice’ and ‘normal’. And that’s it. Aside from my mum dying when I was eighteen there was nothing different about my life.

Scroll forward to today and I live about ten miles away, have two teenagers, and live in a pocket-sized house in a nice area. They go to nice schools and everything is just nice and normal.

What would happen if one day one of my kids told me they were gay or lesbian? What if they were transgender? Would it be nice and normal then? Yes, of course it would be. I don’t give a monkey’s who they are, who they love. It just doesn’t matter. I can’t emphasise that enough. I don’t care, and neither does their dad. [Read more…] about Rejecting Your LGBTQ Child by Sue Brown