In honor of MLK Day--a mission devoted to an often marginalized group. Today's mission project was brought to us by Rainbow Pastor.
An offering for the mission moment—
One of the sister churches in our denomination, MCC-New York, has a special mission to the homeless gay lesbian, bisexual and transgendered youth of New York City. Many of the homeless youth in NYC are GLBT, and are at great risk. Here’s a link to statistics:
http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2006/12/15/4
The church in New York has one of the few (I think there is one other in the city) youth shelters dedicated to GLBT youth, who are often as much at risk in general youth shelters (especially transgendered youth) as they are on the streets. It is the only emergency shelter—no one is turned away that first night. They offer health clinics, activities, and general support.
The link to the church’s shelter (Sylvia’s Place) is here: http://www.sylviasplace.org/
To be honest, there is a need for a shelter like this in cities of any size. Too many GLBT youth are thrown out by their families—yes, even here in Canada. We are hoping to open such a shelter here in our city, with some help from the city government.
Rainbow Pastor
Looks like a great project. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOh, thanks so much for telling us about this!
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful project
ReplyDeleteI am volunteer with a secular organization in the city that works with the same population. Stop on over at my place - http://shewillsing.blogspot.com if you have any ideas on how to lead a group on spirituality for this population.
ReplyDeleteA note on why projects like Sylvia's Place are so badly needed: the only city funded shelter for homeless teens is huge, impersonal, and actually dangerous for GLBT kids. It is run by a conservative faith based group. GLBT kids often report being attacked in the showers, having their belongings stolen, etc. It's not uncommon to hear "I sleep with my shoes so nobody takes them."
In addition, this large shelter is understaffed and treats GLBT kids with an attitude of "if you weren't gay, you wouldn't get attacked."
So Sylvia's Place and other similar projects are the only chance these kids have of finding safe shelter in this city.