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Grim numbers
1. Suicide.org estimates that about 30 percent of
all youth suicides are carried out by gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered
people.
2. Each year, between 570,000 and 1.6 million teens become
homeless or run away in the United States. About 672,000 of these people are
GLBT, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
3.
Safe Schools South Florida reports that more than 90 percent of GLBT or
questioning students regularly hear anti-gay comments at school, with more than
a third coming from staffers.
At a Miami gay outreach center helping teens in trouble is a point of
pride.
By Joanie Cox
A quaint, nameless building sits on the corner of Northeast 19th Street
and Northeast Second Avenue in downtown Miami. Other than the "180" marked
beside the door, the unremarkable edifice disappears into the background. More
than 500 people pass through its doors each year seeking anything from a bite to
eat to advice on coming out.
Founded in 1982, Pridelines Youth Services
is dedicated to educating Miami's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and
questioning people ages 13 to 20 and their straight friends about topics such as
safe sex, self-esteem and how to deal with bullying. Originally called Gay
Lesbian Bisexual Youth of Miami, Pridelines has operated out of this downtown
location since 1999. "We have about five to 15 kids coming here a day and we get
three new members a week," says Alina Serrano, Pridelines' program coordinator.
Most of the people coming to Pridelines are African-American or
Caribbean and come from low-income families. In places such as Jamaica and
Barbados, gay-bashing and other hate crimes directed at homosexuals are rampant
and are even championed in Caribbean pop culture. In the song "Boom Bye-Bye,"
the popular dancehall artist Buju Banton brags about shooting gays with Uzis and
burning them, and Jamaica's Bounty Killer asks his audience to burn "Mister
Faggoty" and make him "wince under agony."
"There's a lot of homophobia
in Caribbean culture," Serrano admits. "Eighty percent of the time, a [gay]
child is outed and thrown out [of his or her home]. About 60 percent of our 13-
to 20-year-olds are homeless. Miami-Dade doesn't have sufficient
shelter."
Shelters are typically unsafe for gay, lesbian and
transgendered youth as they are often discriminated against and harassed. A 2002
study by the University of Washington says they are seven times more likely to
be physically or sexually victimized than straight homeless youth, with males
being abused more frequently than females.
As a result, Serrano says most
of these kids drop out of school and live on the streets. "You can't send a
feminine boy to a shelter. He'll likely face rape or a beatdown. That's why so
many just stay on the street," she says.
Some of the kids also
couch-surf. "Three or four will live in an apartment together," Serrano
explains. "But since many don't get a high school diploma, getting jobs is
another challenge. The meal they eat here, which is typically pizza or a ham
sandwich, is usually the only meal they have all day."
"I had two kids
come in beat up because something happened on the streets," Serrano continues.
"It's always high-intensity, but no one is let in here except the youths — not
even their parents. By the time kids call here, most of them have already been
thrown out with nothing to eat. The Barry interns have been great providing
crisis management."
Gen Martinez, who is interning at Pridelines while
getting her master's degree in social work at Barry University, has conducted individual and
group counseling sessions at the outreach center for the past six months. "It's
really rewarding guiding these kids," she says, "but it's definitely a group
effort."
To help raise awareness about the plight of the kids it serves,
Pridelines hosts community events such as this weekend's GLBTQ (and Straight
Allies) Youth Prom Ecology Ball. "This will be our 13th annual prom," says José
Ventura, a 20-year-old Dominican man with long limbs and a mega-watt,
Tom Cruise-like smile. Ventura has
been going to Pridelines for seven years. "This is the third prom I've worked
on. This year, the theme is 'Going Green,' so we're calling it the Ecology
Ball."
Promgoers are encouraged to wear vintage clothes or design
outfits from newspapers and other recycled goods. There will be a runway show
where contestants will compete for fashionisto prom king and fashionista prom
queen. Last year, more than 250 people attended, but this year, Pridelines
anticipates about 500 guests. Fort
Lauderdale drag queen TP Lords will perform and a DJ will spin
hip-hop and pop tunes. Macy's has
also teamed up with Pridelines to help decorate the event, and Dani Campbell,
the Deerfield Beach Fire and Rescue firefighter who appeared on the reality show
A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila, will host the dance. While this will
be her first Pridelines prom, Campbell attended proms at Lake Worth and Santaluces high schools
when she was still a student and had yet to come out. She wore dresses to these
dances and took a male date.
"There's definitely challenges everywhere
for gay and lesbian youth, especially Florida. I feel like Florida's behind
the bus," Campbell says.
"I always tell people if you're not proud of who you are, how do you expect
anybody else to be? As tough as it is, if everybody just takes a step forward
and stops hiding in the closet and takes more proactive stances in the
community, like voting and getting the right people in office, I think we have a
chance."
Ventura says he didn't have a tough time accepting who he was
while he was a student at Miami Jackson High School. But coming out at home was
another matter. "I came out to my mother when I was in 11th grade and my
boyfriend of a year just broke up with me," he recalls. "I was so upset, I just
told her. She was very supportive, but both my parents are Dominican and we
couldn't live under the same roof. I left home at 17." Ventura now rents his own
apartment.
"Every day, I see friends get kicked out of the house and
have no place to go," Ventura adds. "I get knocks on my door from people asking
to crash or saying they're hungry. I let them in because I know where they've
been. When I first left home, I had to live in my car. It's slowly getting
better for the gay community, but a lot of people still aren't educated about
HIV."
Trey Jones, a 20-year-old Miami-Dade College student, got involved
with Pridelines about a year ago. "Miami is a mixture of liberal and
conservative ideas," Jones says. "South Beach is wild and crazy, but they have
their conservatives. One of my friends was recently called a 'fat queer' getting
off Metrorail."
Pridelines Executive Director Vivian Marthell says that
cultural obstacles can be the toughest to overcome. The organization hopes to
expand into other areas of Miami, such as Little Havana and Coral Gables to assist gay youth there.
"We're dealing with two major barriers — the machismo mentality and the
hyper-religious," Marthell explains. "One mother came to me and told me she'd
rather have her daughter be a prostitute than a lesbian. But all these kids have
incredible gifts and we're providing them with a safe environment to express who
they really are."
and Northeast Second Avenue in downtown Miami. Other than the "180" marked
beside the door, the unremarkable edifice disappears into the background. More
than 500 people pass through its doors each year seeking anything from a bite to
eat to advice on coming out.
Founded in 1982, Pridelines Youth Services
is dedicated to educating Miami's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and
questioning people ages 13 to 20 and their straight friends about topics such as
safe sex, self-esteem and how to deal with bullying. Originally called Gay
Lesbian Bisexual Youth of Miami, Pridelines has operated out of this downtown
location since 1999. "We have about five to 15 kids coming here a day and we get
three new members a week," says Alina Serrano, Pridelines' program coordinator.
Most of the people coming to Pridelines are African-American or
Caribbean and come from low-income families. In places such as Jamaica and
Barbados, gay-bashing and other hate crimes directed at homosexuals are rampant
and are even championed in Caribbean pop culture. In the song "Boom Bye-Bye,"
the popular dancehall artist Buju Banton brags about shooting gays with Uzis and
burning them, and Jamaica's Bounty Killer asks his audience to burn "Mister
Faggoty" and make him "wince under agony."
"There's a lot of homophobia
in Caribbean culture," Serrano admits. "Eighty percent of the time, a [gay]
child is outed and thrown out [of his or her home]. About 60 percent of our 13-
to 20-year-olds are homeless. Miami-Dade doesn't have sufficient
shelter."
Shelters are typically unsafe for gay, lesbian and
transgendered youth as they are often discriminated against and harassed. A 2002
study by the University of Washington says they are seven times more likely to
be physically or sexually victimized than straight homeless youth, with males
being abused more frequently than females.
As a result, Serrano says most
of these kids drop out of school and live on the streets. "You can't send a
feminine boy to a shelter. He'll likely face rape or a beatdown. That's why so
many just stay on the street," she says.
Some of the kids also
couch-surf. "Three or four will live in an apartment together," Serrano
explains. "But since many don't get a high school diploma, getting jobs is
another challenge. The meal they eat here, which is typically pizza or a ham
sandwich, is usually the only meal they have all day."
"I had two kids
come in beat up because something happened on the streets," Serrano continues.
"It's always high-intensity, but no one is let in here except the youths — not
even their parents. By the time kids call here, most of them have already been
thrown out with nothing to eat. The Barry interns have been great providing
crisis management."
Gen Martinez, who is interning at Pridelines while
getting her master's degree in social work at Barry University, has conducted individual and
group counseling sessions at the outreach center for the past six months. "It's
really rewarding guiding these kids," she says, "but it's definitely a group
effort."
To help raise awareness about the plight of the kids it serves,
Pridelines hosts community events such as this weekend's GLBTQ (and Straight
Allies) Youth Prom Ecology Ball. "This will be our 13th annual prom," says José
Ventura, a 20-year-old Dominican man with long limbs and a mega-watt,
Tom Cruise-like smile. Ventura has
been going to Pridelines for seven years. "This is the third prom I've worked
on. This year, the theme is 'Going Green,' so we're calling it the Ecology
Ball."
Promgoers are encouraged to wear vintage clothes or design
outfits from newspapers and other recycled goods. There will be a runway show
where contestants will compete for fashionisto prom king and fashionista prom
queen. Last year, more than 250 people attended, but this year, Pridelines
anticipates about 500 guests. Fort
Lauderdale drag queen TP Lords will perform and a DJ will spin
hip-hop and pop tunes. Macy's has
also teamed up with Pridelines to help decorate the event, and Dani Campbell,
the Deerfield Beach Fire and Rescue firefighter who appeared on the reality show
A Shot at Love With Tila Tequila, will host the dance. While this will
be her first Pridelines prom, Campbell attended proms at Lake Worth and Santaluces high schools
when she was still a student and had yet to come out. She wore dresses to these
dances and took a male date.
"There's definitely challenges everywhere
for gay and lesbian youth, especially Florida. I feel like Florida's behind
the bus," Campbell says.
"I always tell people if you're not proud of who you are, how do you expect
anybody else to be? As tough as it is, if everybody just takes a step forward
and stops hiding in the closet and takes more proactive stances in the
community, like voting and getting the right people in office, I think we have a
chance."
Ventura says he didn't have a tough time accepting who he was
while he was a student at Miami Jackson High School. But coming out at home was
another matter. "I came out to my mother when I was in 11th grade and my
boyfriend of a year just broke up with me," he recalls. "I was so upset, I just
told her. She was very supportive, but both my parents are Dominican and we
couldn't live under the same roof. I left home at 17." Ventura now rents his own
apartment.
"Every day, I see friends get kicked out of the house and
have no place to go," Ventura adds. "I get knocks on my door from people asking
to crash or saying they're hungry. I let them in because I know where they've
been. When I first left home, I had to live in my car. It's slowly getting
better for the gay community, but a lot of people still aren't educated about
HIV."
Trey Jones, a 20-year-old Miami-Dade College student, got involved
with Pridelines about a year ago. "Miami is a mixture of liberal and
conservative ideas," Jones says. "South Beach is wild and crazy, but they have
their conservatives. One of my friends was recently called a 'fat queer' getting
off Metrorail."
Pridelines Executive Director Vivian Marthell says that
cultural obstacles can be the toughest to overcome. The organization hopes to
expand into other areas of Miami, such as Little Havana and Coral Gables to assist gay youth there.
"We're dealing with two major barriers — the machismo mentality and the
hyper-religious," Marthell explains. "One mother came to me and told me she'd
rather have her daughter be a prostitute than a lesbian. But all these kids have
incredible gifts and we're providing them with a safe environment to express who
they really are."
Web site: PRIDELINES.ORG
