Tumbleweed will provide a transitional housing program that will teach the skills necessary for independent living while affording homeless Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (GLBTQ) 18-24 years old a safe, temporary living environment. To assist in the needs of GLBTQ youth under the age of 18, the project will work with a network of foster care resources willing to house this underserved population. The name of the GreenHouse Project was chosen for two reasons:
In one nationwide survey, over 84 % of GLBTQ students reported verbal harassment at school. Over 39 % of all gays, lesbian, and bisexual youth reported being punched, kicked or injured with a weapon at school because of their sexual orientation while 55% of transgender youth reported physical attacks because of their gender identity or gender expression. Many GLBTQ youth report relying on television to learn what it means to be lesbian or gay. In one study, 80 % of these youth ages 14 to 17 believed media stereotypes that depicted gay men as effeminate and lesbians as masculine. Half believed that all homosexual people were unhappy. The green house project gives GBLTQ youth a safe place to live, positive messages about who they are and positive role models to assist them in learning to love themselves and find success and self sufficiency.
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GLBTQ youth often internalize negative societal Messages regarding sexual orientation and suffer from self- hated as well as from social and emotional isolation. They may use substances to manage stigma and shame, to deny same – sex sexual feelings, and/or as a defense against ridicule and violence.
