Resource Center

In this op-ed, Morgan Philbin, PhD, MHS, associate director at the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative and director of the Educations Program, highlights the lack of tailored programming and shelters where LGTBQ+ youth feel safe, resulting in youths feeling safer on the streets. She calls for state and local governments to invest in tailored services to support LGTBQ+ teenagers and youth. Dr. Philbin writes, "These programs should coordinate with each other to most effectively deliver the services within their expertise, while simultaneously ensuring every young person has their needs met." This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation

In this op-ed, Marguerita Lightfoot, PhD, MA, Associate Dean for Research at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, highlights the need to make youth experiencing homelessness more visible. She outlines that the estimates of youth experiencing homelessness are vastly underrepresented. Youth experiencing homelessness are often not in the locations that are surveyed. Dr. Lightfoot writes, "It falls to HUD and lawmakers to make the invisible, visible — to look for and truly see young people experiencing homelessness." This op-ed was published as part of the Public Voices Fellowship in partnership with The OpEd Project and funding from the California Health Care Foundation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) were disproportionately impacted; there were common upstream factors, including racism, homophobia, poverty, and structural violence that place youth at risk for homelessness and exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Public health guidelines overlooked YEH. In this commentary, researchers discuss practical strategies to address the unique health and social needs of YEH.