The Montrose Center Spearheads A New Collaborative Effort To Prevent LGBTQ Youth Homelessness

The creation of NEST, a coalition of 60-plus agencies and organizations throughout Harris County, was announced earlier this month. Led by the Montrose Center (401 Branard), NEST will put a five-step action plan into place to aid homeless LGBTQ youth “who run away or are kicked out of their homes,” according to an article on Project Q. The goal is to end homelessness among Harris County LGBTQ youth by 2020.

The five goals of the initiative — in which AIDS Foundation Houston, Legacy Community Health Services and Montrose Grace Place are all also involved — include facilitating better “local collaboration between stakeholders working with [LGBTQ] youth,” improving “identification of LGBTQ youth at-risk of or experiencing episodic homelessness,” improving policies and interventions that prevent LGBTQ homelessness “across shelter and housing systems,” reducing homelessness among the targeted population overall and informing “national strategies for preventing and ending homelessness” among LGBTQ youth.

For additional details, visit NEST’s official media statement.