Jasiel Lopez/Staff Writer
Approximately 40 percent of homeless youth in the U.S. identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender according to the Williams Institute, a national think tank at the UCLA School of Law.
Light in the Closet, a new program founded by Jose Sirven, the vice president of the Student Government Council at the Modesto Maidique campus, seeks to mitigate the issues of homeless LGBT youth in Miami.
In a survey of organizations providing services to homeless youth, the Williams Institute found that the top cited reason for homelessness among LGBT youth was running away due to family rejection of sexual orientation or identity. The second most cited reason for LGBT youth homelessness is being forced out by parents for their sexual orientation or identity.
Sirven, who founded Light in the Closet after attending a human rights project training at the United Nations in Switzerland said his experiences at FIU made him more aware of the struggles of other LGBT peers.
“I’m so grateful I came to FIU because my whole foundation was shaken. I met so many people with different background with real world struggles,” said Sirven, who is openly gay.
Light in the Closet plans to mitigate the difficulty of homelessness for LGBT youth by providing resources necessary to successfully complete their college education. The top resources that the program will focus on are free mental health services, tutoring services, professional development and peer mentorships.
Sirven believes that homeless youth can achieve success given the right resources.
”Light in the Closet is focused on mitigating that low passing rate for LGBT homeless youth, who really need education the most, and education can be a great equalizer,” said Sirven.
Due to unhealthy environments, LGBT students have higher rates of absenteeism in schools than heterosexual students, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Absenteeism generally correlates with lower graduation rates among students.
The key to solving many of the issues that LGBT students face would be for government to intervene to create the right conditions in classrooms, according to Sirven.
“If our government taught issues of identity in classrooms, giving teachers trainings on how to spot abuse, making curriculum that’s more inclusive and making the LGBT community more visible in our lives, it would help so much,” said Sirven.
In a way to fill that gap, Light in the Closet will begin conducting presentations in high school and college classrooms to address LGBT issues and reach out to those who may need help.
“We’ll go in and educate the general population and how they can help and have those who need help to reach us through youth mentors, we’ll work with them to have support and guidance,” said Sirven.
Emergency aid, like food and shelter to struggling students, is a priority for Light in the Closet. Sirven hopes to connect struggling youth to all the necessary resources. Currently, the Fostering Panther Pride program at FIU supports students who are homeless or formerly in foster care with tuition exemption and assisted housing.
FIU seeks to ensure the success of students from different backgrounds and experiences and Light in the Closet will advocate for an LGBT center at FIU that serves LGBT students with needs specific to them, according to Sirven.
“For us to have that ‘World’s Ahead’ community and provide holistic services to all of our students, the student center is an achievable mission,” said Sirven.
To get involved with Light in the Closet you can contact Sirven at jsirven@fiu.edu.
Feature Image courtesy of Jose Sirven.
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