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_Lucie's Place is a dream in response to the nightmare that is many young Lesbian. Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer (LGBTQ) peoples lives. The board of Lucie's Place is working to open a long-term transitional shelter in the Central Arkansas area, which will be open specifically to LGBTQ identified young adults.
Only 5-10% of the general population identify as LGBTQ, however 20-40% of the homeless population share this identity. Although equality for LGBTQ people has come a long way in the past 50 years, harassment and violence (verbal, physical and sexual) are commonly experienced by youth and young adults coming out as LGBTQ at home. A study found that nearly one-third of homeless youth “left home specifically because of sexual abuse by one of their parents.” Once homeless, many young adults find survival sex necessary (sex in exchange for food, shelter, money, etc). A Canadian study found that LGBT young adults were almost 3 times more likely to engage in survival sex, than heterosexual young adults. A 2009 eight-city study found that “homeless youth and young adults who engaged in survival sex were 4.5 times more likely to have attempted suicide than those who had not engaged in the behavior.” The cards are stacked against LGBTQ homeless young adults, not only in large cities such as New York or San Francisco, but in Central Arkansas as well. With your help, we can try to shed some positive light on this these grim situations and statistics. The history of Lucie's Place _
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