Homeless Gay Kids – Houston has announced that its drop-in center will be located at 3611 Montrose Boulevard. The center will serve young people 13-24 who are experiencing homelessness. HGK-H also announced that Barbara Carroll will be the center’s program director.
“We’re very excited to be making preparations to open the drop-in center in the next few weeks, ”says HGK-H Chair Jeff Hoffman.
“Dozens of people from the community have spent the last year researching, planning, fundraising and building a unique coalition of organizations that will work together to serve the kids,” he adds.
“Barbara is exactly the right person to take the groundwork that has been laid and get the drop-in center up and running.”
Barbara Carroll is a Houston native. She received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Michigan in 2015. Prior to moving back to Houston, she was a clinical therapist, working with adolescents in a Detroit residential treatment center.
“LGBT youth homelessness hits me deeply,” Carroll says. “When you don’t have family support, making the transition into adult independence can be a struggle. The center will be one place kids can find the caring support they need.”
The HGK-H drop-in-center will be open every day of the week to provide for kids’ immediate needs, as well as serve as a place where they can learn life skills for a better future.
The drop-in center will provide services including: food, backpacks and hygiene kits, Wi-Fi and phone charging, as well as referrals to resources.
The mission of HGK-H is to provide a dependable, safe place where homeless LGBT young people can find support and access to services
That will help them to survive and thrive.
As LGBT youth often have challenges other kids do not have, there will be an emphasis on LGBT youth. However, no young people will be turned away.
HGK-H is a nonprofit organization [501 (c3)]. It receives no government funding and relies entirely on donors and volunteers from the community.
Please consider helping fund our efforts by making your online donation to Homeless Gay Kids – Houston, below.