LGBT Youth Organizations

There’s a bridge I hide under – from LGBT Youth

August 5, 2012 By Brandon Leave a Comment

A 6-month update from the Executive Director of Lost-n-Found Youth, Rick Westbrook, is below. We have upwards of 7 homeless youth on our wait list. Your support goes a long way, not only to help the 6 youth we are housing, but to help us plan to expand to help even more!

Lost-n-Found Youth has just passed the 6 month mark, and things are in full swing.

All of the youth in the house now:

-Have jobs or are just waiting on their schedules

-Start school / college this week, Or

-Go off to Job Corps soon [Read more…] about There’s a bridge I hide under – from LGBT Youth

Here’s Your Wake Up Call about LGBT Youth Programs

May 8, 2012 By Brandon Leave a Comment

Here is a reprint of the email one of the organizations I work with just received. Sometimes I really wonder if my reader’s understand what we’re actually battling against in LGBT Youth organizations. Sometimes I wonder if they really believe that the atrocities in my books are just a warped imagination and not a reflection of the devastation still being wrought on our community. And many times I wonder if we will ever wake up, put down our latte’s and actually do something beside give lip service to these tragedies. [Read more…] about Here’s Your Wake Up Call about LGBT Youth Programs

Helping LGBT Youth – March 2012

March 21, 2012 By Brandon Leave a Comment

Every month I try to post about the two LGBT Youth organizations that I help (in a small way) with the proceeds from The Value Of Rain. Both organizations are trying to meet increasing demands with very little funding. So if you can see it in your heart to help out these groups, which work directly to take homeless LGBT kids off the street, you will do so knowing that your small contribution helped take a kid off the streets and showed him that someone cared enough to say YES, you are worthy of being loved.

GLBTAYS – DONATE

In a state that ranks as #1 for being the worst place for homeless youth, this organization fights against innumerable social, religious and monetary odds to help provide LGBT Youth with a safe place to interact, converse, learn and, if need be, helps them find a safe place to stay. Recently they launched a multimedia project called “From Behind The Mask” which shows real people and real struggles in the LGBT Youth community. It is definitely something you’ll want to check out.

Saint Lost & Found – DONATE

Taking 25 kids off the street and ‘graduating’ two to near self independence is not an easy task. Ask the guys and girls over at St. Lost and Found and what you’ll hear isn’t about how hard it is, but how rewarding it is when something as simple as a “glad to meet you” changes a kid’s perspective from one of desolation to one of hope for their future. But they’ve done much more than that and continue to help those that need our help the most.

Helping LGBT Youth – February 2012

February 22, 2012 By Brandon Leave a Comment

This kind of post is important to me because it lets my readers know 1) What’s going on with the money you spend when you buy The Value Of Rain (half the proceeds are donated to the two LGBT Youth nonprofits below); and 2) It also shows you how just a little time and money can have a massive impact. People tend to have this ingrained idea that their small contributions, or that the one hour they can volunteer a week, doesn’t really matter in the big schemes of things. It DOES matter! It matters to the kids that have no one else to turn to. Never forget that. Here’s just a few examples:

Saint Lost and Found

Since the conception of Lost N Found, they have helped over THREE DOZEN kids in the past three months. Here’s an report from Rick Westbrook a.k.a. Sister Rapture Divine Cox in their latest Facebook post:

The kids have come to us in all shapes, sizes, and colors. These youths are each special and incredible in their own way. They come to us not broken, but certainly with some damage such as walls built up, trust issues, and still in survival mode. Some have been abused, starved, neglected, or otherwise just thrown to the curb. [Read more…] about Helping LGBT Youth – February 2012

Facebook a danger to LGBT Youth?

January 19, 2012 By Brandon Leave a Comment

Back in September when Facebook started announcing and putting all their new changes into place, specifically the timeline, I had a talk with my online advisor. At that time we were discussing the fact that most LGBT Youth organizations do NOT communicate with teens through the medium they use most: their cell phone. In fact, most LGBT Youth organizations’ online info isn’t even accessible to at-risk teens if they aren’t sitting at a PC. Simply, website and contact info is nearly invisible if the organization’s website is not mobile friendly. (Or if they don’t have a mobile app.)

This came to light (to me) when I was trying to send some emergency contact info to an LGBT kid that needed immediate resources and help. I sent several of the most prominent national LGBT youth website URLs (and multiple local ones) only to have him tell me that he couldn’t read or access any of it on his cell phone. (The only thing available to him.) That’s a pretty big fail for LGBT Youth organizations, especially those trying to help homeless youth. If we can’t connect with the kids, how are we going to help? [Read more…] about Facebook a danger to LGBT Youth?

Helping LGBT Youth – January 2012

January 6, 2012 By Brandon 2 Comments

As many of you already know, I am a LGBT Youth advocate and donate half the proceeds from The Value of Rain to help two local nonprofit organizations whose dedication and goals match my own. Occasionally I post updates here about what they are doing and how they are affecting the LGBT Youth community. Considering the age of both of these organizations, what they have done in such a short time is nothing less than phenomenal, and it is exactly why they will continue to get my support. [Read more…] about Helping LGBT Youth – January 2012