Homeless Gay Youths Find a Safe Haven

Roxy wears her dark hair in a bristling crew cut, her slight frame swimming in baggy khaki pants and a loose sweater.

As a teenager, her boyish look and open lesbianism didn’t always sit well with others. A Romanian immigrant whose mother had died, Roxy feared she would be persecuted for her sexual orientation if she returned to her native country.

Young, gay and virtually homeless -- she’d been kicked out of her sister’s house -- Roxy is one of the hundreds of youths who turn up each year at the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center in Hollywood.

Most are looking for food, a hot shower, maybe a change of clothes. Some are drug-addicted or HIV-positive, in need of counseling or medical care.

More than a third of the estimated 15,000 homeless youths in the metropolitan area identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, said Dylan Gailey, the center’s director of youth services.

Many drift to the streets of Hollywood and West Hollywood, drawn by the promise of stardom or simply by a welcoming gay community.

“They come with the dream of making it in Hollywood, and they become prey to the porn industry or survival sex,” Gailey said. “We’re providing a safe haven where these young people can be nourished and supported ... so they can live healthy lives. They are this community’s future.”

The Gay & Lesbian Center is one of more than 50 service organizations in Southern California that benefited from last year’s Los Angeles Times Holiday Campaign.

The $15,000 granted to the center’s youth services department helped support the organization’s Jeff Griffith Youth Center, a drop-in facility on the border of Hollywood and West Hollywood that provides meals, clothing and hygiene kits for homeless youths.

The program helps needy young people without regard to sexual orientation, Gailey said. Last year, 550 new clients visited the drop-in center.

The Gay & Lesbian Center has a group home with room for 24 young people. The Kruks/Tilsner Transitional Living Program combines basic services such as food and shelter with counseling and art programs to help young people prepare to live on their own.

Now 21 and a student at Los Angeles City College, Roxy will soon graduate from the 18-month program. She will leave with not only a scholarship and new wire-rimmed glasses, both provided by the center, but also with a legal claim to U.S. residency.

That’s because the center’s legal department found a pro-bono lawyer to handle Roxy’s immigration case. She was recently granted asylum, allowing her to live and work legally in the United States.

“If it wasn’t for this program, I’d be dead or starving or somewhere on the streets,” she said softly. “They got me back on my feet.”

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