A South Side minister is helping spearhead a project that will help LGBT homeless youth finish school.
Bishop James E. Dukes of Pentecostal Liberation Christian Center, 6810 S. Ashland Ave., said the project came about after he and church members became aware that homeless LGBT youth were a major concern for their community.
In April 2013, Dukes occupied an Englewood house that had been vacated after its owners had been intimidated by local gang members and drug dealers. He and community members held regular meetings at the house to discuss the neighborhood's most troubling issues. Among those concerns was the availability of resources for homeless LGBT youth.
"They pointed to a both a limited amount of resources and a limited amount of acceptance in the community," Dukes said. "This is a population that we need to tap into. This is not a faith-based issue; it's a human rights issue."
He spoke with displaced youth, who corrected Dukes and others by saying they did not consider themselves homeless—they indeed had homes but could not be there because they were LGBT.
Dukes concluded that easing the youths' access to educational resources might be a key in eventually improving their situations. "Education is our best means against violence, poverty and joblessness, among many problems," he noted.
The church joined forces with Chicago-based alternative school organization Prologue, Inc., to create the Lorde Rustin Education & Social Justice Program, which will give resources for young LGBT people who need assistance in either completing their high school diplaoma or obtaining a GED. Participants will also be able to get assistance in finding food, shelter, job referrals and other wraparound services.
The program's principals expect that the Lorde Rustin will employ about five or six staffers, according to Dr. Nancy Jacobs, CEO of Prologue. The initiative is being coordinated by activist Carla ( C.C. ) Carter, and a September start-date is planned.
"This is a great opportunity to bring a wide range of people to the table," Dukes said, adding that, while his parishioners are largely supportive, "many are holding their breaths and taking a 'wait and see' attitude. But this is a walk all of us can walk."
The church membership has focused on many social justice issues, among them domestic violence and helping formerly incarcerated individuals. "Now they are learning that [LGBT youths] are a population who needs help."
Dukes hopes that one of the now-vacant homes will, within the next year, become a shelter for LGBT youth. He added that he would be glad if some individuals would not have to always travel to the North Side in order to access resources. "For a lot of them, saying you have to go up to the North Side is the same as saying you have to go up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin."
He further issued a call to action to his colleagues in other churches to consider how well they acknowledge the problems facing all the members of their communities.
"I really would like to challenge my fellow pastors as to how we define Christianity in a day and age where everything is being redefined," Dukes said. "This is a pilgrimage that we all should be taking together."
