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In this issue: Pride Month, Graduation, Vaccine Clinic, Gala News, Golf Outing and more!

Shelter's Pride is Showing!

LGBTQ+ YOUTH AND THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM

Children and adolescents who identify as LGBTQ+, just like all children, enter the child welfare system because their biological families cannot provide safe and nurturing homes. However, LGBTQ+ youths are overrepresented in the system.

Multiple studies show between 25 - 43% of LGBTQ+ youth are homeless because of their family’s non-acceptance of their sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse is common when a youth comes out as LGBTQ+, resulting in the child running away or being locked out of their home.

Tragically, for many homeless LGBTQ+ youths, life away from their birth families isn’t any better as they’re at far greater risk than their non-LGBTQ+ peers of physical violence, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and death. Yet, some find living on the streets safer than in a family environment.

While in theory, the foster care system should provide the stable and nurturing care all children need. In reality, because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, a youth may be subjected to the same abuse and neglect from foster parents. The outcome is a significant turnover rate in foster homes and a lower rate of finding a permanent home before aging out of the system.

Shelter, Inc. is committed to providing safe, inclusive, and supportive resources for youth and families from all backgrounds and identities. Click here to read the full article. 

So proud to have been a sponsor of the BG Pride Drive!
Thanks for coming out to show your support!

Click here to learn more about the Pinta Pride Project. 

This month we celebrate four high school graduates and one college graduate who have been a part of Shelter's Healthy Families, Foster Care, and Youth Experiencing Homelessness programs. We are so proud of these young people and applaud their hard work and determination to succeed while managing life’s challenges. We wish them all the best and encourage them to move forward with purpose, vision, and passion.

A special thank you to Families Helping Families and Boxed Parties for the graduation gift boxes!

Youth homelessness is not only an urban problem. Palatine, Wheeling and Arlington Heights have the highest rates of students experiencing homelessness in Illinois outside the city of Chicago. In this webinar, you will learn what homelessness among youth looks like, how to identify students with unstable family situations, and how to seek help and access resources. This webinar is appropriate for teachers, child care workers, social workers, social service agencies and providers, law enforcement, and concerned members of the community. Participants will earn one CEU credit for attending.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Schaumburg-Hoffman Estates for granting Shelter $4,400 to be used for transportation vouchers for Shelter's Healthy Families program participants and our Family Crisis Fund.

Thank you to Byline Bank for granting Shelter $4,000 for general operating support. 

Only by working together can we stop the cycle of child abuse and neglect. 

If you share our vision that all children grow up in safe and nurturing homes, please support us today. 

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