A Rogers Park church has begun efforts to open an LGBTQ youth shelter after the church's minister preached Sunday that he had been called to the task.
Rev. Russ Sorensen of Unity Church, 1925 W. Thome Ave., told congregants over the weekend that the epidemic of LGBTQ youth homelessness in the city called for urgent action.
"Last Sunday, I just couldn't keep it in," Sorensen told Windy City Times.
Sorensen, a straight minister, represents a diverse non-denominational Christian church. Approximately 40-50 percent of his congregants are LGBT, he said.
The church has long embraced LGBT people and outreach efforts to queer homeless young people by other organizations.
But only recently did Sorensen learn of the myriad challenges facing those young people, he said.
A few months ago, a young lesbian opened to him about difficulties she was facing. The conversation got him thinking, he said, and she started to research queer homeless youth issues.
Not long after, a congregant who had survived homelessness offered to introduce Sorensen to some of the city's LGBT homeless youth. He spoke with more than a dozen young people on the street, listening to their stories and taking in their needs.
"After I met those young people, I just had trouble sleeping," said Sorensen.
Sorensen began to look at the resources available to queer homeless youth in the city and recognized there were few.
"This was a call for me that I can't ignore," he said.
On Sunday, he shared that vision with congregants in a sermon on the issue. He was met with "stunned silence," he said. But since, he has received dozens of messages and calls about making the shelter happen.
The church is in its earliest stages of planning, talking with other agencies that serve the young people to determine what housing model is needed and what services the shelter should provide.
Sorensen said he recognizes the learning curve will be steep. In addition to finding a space for the shelter, the church will need create a sustainable model for keeping the shelter open and providing food and other services. It will need funds, culturally competent staff and a safe building.
Sorensen said he will rely heavily on the expertise of LGBTQ community members to make it happen.
"I want people to come together and get together so we can do this in the best way," he said.
Shelters that specifically serve LGBTQ youth are few and far between, and shelters that do not are often considered unsafe for queer youth who are more likely to be targeted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, service providers estimate that queer youth account for a large percentage of the city's homeless population, as many young people are forced to leave their parents homes after coming out as LGBTQ.
Chicago has just two shelters for LGBTQ youth. Humboldt Park organization Vida/SIDA opened a transitional home for queer youth earlier this year. The Night Ministry operates an LGBTQ-friendly shelter nightly in Lakeview, but that shelter is seasonally-funded and will remain closed through September this year.
Sorensen said it remains unclear what model the church will adopt, but that a group home for up to a dozen young people is a possibility. The shelter will be in Rogers Park, a far North Side neighborhood with a large LGBT population. And while the shelter will be run by Unity, staff members will not be evangelizing to the youth, said Sorensen.
Despite a lack of concrete plans, Sorensen is confident the shelter will be a reality, and the church may not be stopping at one.
"I already envision more than one of these," he said. "We need to develop a prototype."
