Children and Youth Services Review 139 (2022) 106552

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Children and Youth Services Review

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth

“I just want to move forward”: Themes of resilience among LGBTQ young

adults experiencing family rejection and housing insecurity
Jonah P. DeChants a, *, Jama Shelton b, Yolanda Anyon c, Kimberly Bender c
a
Colorado State University, 450 W Pitkin St, Fort Collins, CO 80521, United States
b
Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, United States
c
University of Denver, United States

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) young adults are overrepresented among
LGBTQ youth homelessness young adults experiencing homelessness. Heterosexist and cisgenderist rejection from their families frequently
Youth homelessness causes and exacerbates this housing instability. Despite these challenges, LGBTQ young adults demonstrate
Resilience
tremendous resilience. Using grounded theory to analyze interviews with 15 young adults experiencing family
Family rejection
rejection and housing instability, this study seeks to illuminate the practices and attitudes that allow LGBTQ
young adults to develop and maintain resilience. Analysis of the interview data revealed three main themes: (1)
strategizing: taking agency, making plans, and learning lessons; (2) connecting: getting support from individuals,
institutions, and communities, and engaging in their own altruism; and, (3) coping: focusing on goals, main­
taining motivation, and using creativity. This study holds important implications for housing agencies and others
who seek to support LGBTQ young adults, suggesting that we should build programs that leverage the existing
strengths and resilience of these young adults in efforts to create housing stability. ge the existing strengths and
resilience of young adults in efforts to create housing stability.

1. Introduction
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning
(LGBTQ) young adults are overrepresented among young adults expe­
riencing homelessness (Choi et al., 2015; Durso & Gates, 2012; Morton
et al., 2018). Measuring the prevalence of LGBTQ young adult home­
lessness is an inexact science, both because young adults experiencing
homelessness are frequently disconnected from service institutions, as
well as the complexity of young adults disclosing their LGBTQ identities
to service providers. Nonetheless, youth who identify as LGBTQ
comprise approximately seven to nine percent of the general population
(Wilson et al., 2014), but 29% of youth seeking housing services (Choi
et al., 2015). Similarly, estimates suggest transgender youth make up
three percent of the general population (Wilson et al., 2014) and four to
seven percent of youth seeking housing services (Choi et al., 2015;
Whitbeck et al., 2015). In the face of these difficult experiences, LGBTQ
young adults experiencing homelessness exhibit extraordinary resilience
(Shelton et al., 2018; Wagaman et al., 2019). This study aims to expand
the existing literature on LGBTQ young adult resilience, illuminating the
specific practices and attitudes that young adults develop as they navi­
gate family rejection and housing instability.
1.1. Risks and disparities among LGBTQ young adults experiencing
homelessness
Although all young adults experiencing homelessness encounter
significant risks to their well-being, conditions are often harsher and
more difficult for LGBTQ young adults experiencing homelessness.
Heterosexism and cisgenderism are systematic forms of oppression
which marginalize LGBTQ people across all sectors of society (Ansara &
Hegarty, 2011; Smith, Oades, & McCarthy, 2012). Heterosexism is an
ideology that both denigrates non-heterosexual sexualities and privi­
leges heterosexuality over homosexuality (Smith et al., 2012). Similarly,
cisgenderism is an ideology which invalidates non-cisgender genders
and privileges gender which align with the binary gender assigned at
bith (Ansara & Hegarty, 2011). Heterosexism and cisgenderism can be
used to describe a wide range of oppressive actions, policies, or beliefs,
including anti-LGBTQ microaggressions or discriminiation (Bettcher,

Abbreviations: LGBTQ, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: Jonah.DeChants@gmail.com (J.P. DeChants).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106552
Received 30 June 2021; Received in revised form 10 May 2022; Accepted 20 May 2022
Available online 24 May 2022
0190-7409/© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
J.P. DeChants et al.
2014).
The first system of support which fails LGBTQ young adults is
frequently their families. LGBTQ young adults frequently become
homelessness due to heterosexist or cisgenderist family rejection (Choi
et al., 2015; Keuroghlian et al., 2014; Durso & Gates, 2012). Many
parents and guardians have embraced or internalized heterosexist or
cisgenderist ideas from the larger society and express these ideas to their
LGBTQ children in the form of harassment, slurs, or violence (Authors,
under review). Surveys of housing staff have found that LGBTQ youth
clients are more likely to have run away or been forced out of their
family home due to conflict about their LGBTQ identity (Choi et al.,
2015; Durso & Gates, 2012).
Finding a place to stay is a next challenge for many young adults;
with few choices, young people may be able to find a bed at an emer­
gency shelter, crash with friends or extended family, or be forced to
sleep on the street or in a public place such as a bus or train. LGBQ1
youth are less likely to stay in a shelter and more likely to sleep in public
or at the home of a stranger than their straight, cisgender peers, despite
associated risks such as increased likelihood of physical victimization
(Tyler, & Beal, 2010; Rice, et al., 2015).
This may be due to experiences of heterosexist (Abramovich, 2013)
or cisgenderist (Grant et al., 2011; James et al., 2016) discrimination
from shelter staff or residents. Transgender young adults experiencing
homelessness report a number of cisgenderist barriers in shelter,
including concerns about physical and emotional safety, lack of recog­
nition of their gender identities, lack of privacy in shared shelter spaces,
feeling misunderstood by cisgender peers and staff, difficulty finding
transgender-inclusive employment opportunities, and lack of access to
gender-affirming identification documents (Shelton, 2015).
Life on the streets is dangerous for all young people; however, LGBQ
young adults experiencing homelessness are more likely to be victims of
physical or sexual assault and are also more likely to exchange sex for
money, food, or a place to stay than their straight, cisgender peers
(Cochran et al., 2002; Walls & Bell, 2011; Shelton et al., 2018b). Among
young adults experiencing homelessness, LGBTQ identity is a significant
predictor of recent stress (Moskowitz et al., 2012). Given such disparities
and adversity, understanding the needs of LGBTQ young adults is vitally
important to developing services to help them exit homelessness and
maintain stable housing.
1.2. Resilience among young adults experiencing homelessness
The American Psychological Association defines resilience as “the
process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats
or even significant sources of stress” (American Psychological Associa­
tion, 2014, para.4). The concept of resilience has been critiqued,
particularly by those who note that marginalized youth should not have
to develop resilience to cope with systematic oppression (e.g. racism)
but rather practitioners should pursue systematic changes to prevent the
adversities and harms caused by systematic oppression (Anderson,
2019). Especially when considering individuals experiencing home­
lessness, scholars should be careful to not use resilience as another form
of “boot straps”, or expecting individuals to their housing instability
through sheer determination, rather than acknowledging the systems
that have failed them and offering meaningful support (Gaetz, 2018).
Nonetheless, resilience can be an important framework for researchers
to understand the factors, characteristics, or practices which empower
those experiencing homelessness to more toward stable housing. Among
young people experiencing homelessness, previous research has identi­
fied a number of sources for resilience, including having attained a high
school diploma or paid employment (Ferguson, Bender, & Thompson,
1 1
In this literature review “LGBQ” is used to describe studies which do not
include transgender participants in their samples. “LGBTQ” is used to describe
studies which include transgender participants.
2
Children and Youth Services Review 139 (2022) 106552
2015; Rahman et al., 2015), relationships with supportive adults and
peers (Barman-Adhikari & Rice, 2014; Dang et al., 2014), and self-rated
health (Narendorf et al., 2018).
1.3. Resilience among LGBTQ young adults experiencing homelessness
There is a small but growing body of literature examining the resil­
ience of LGBTQ young adults as they navigate the challenges and risks
posed by family rejection and housing instability. Despite the disparities
described above, a literature review of 31 studies on LGBTQ youth
homelessness found that there are no significant differences in loneli­
ness, hopelessness, or social connectedness between LGBTQ young
adults experiencing homelessness and their straight, cisgender peers
(Ecker, 2016). LGBQ young adults experiencing homelessness are more
likely to use STI and HIV testing services and less likely to have been
recently arrested (Ecker, 2016). Some young adults report that they
prefer the LGBTQ community and culture that they find on the street to
the abuse and rejection that they experienced at home (Castellanos,
2016; Shelton, 2016).
Five processes of resilience have been identified among LGBTQ
youth expereincing homelessness: embracing their identities, meaning­
ful relationships, navigating safety, asserting meaningful agency, and
engaging in collective action or healing (Asakura, 2016). One third of
participants in a study of transgender young adults experiencing
homelessness reported that they would have committed suicide if they
had not left home (Shelton, 2016). Leaving home, therefore, was an act
of self-preservation. Participants also reported that finding community
with other LGBTQ people was helpful, allowing transgender young
adults to support one another by teaching each other skills and sharing
resources or information (Shelton, 2016). In fact, being homeless
allowed them to access information about resources, transgender iden­
tities, and transgender history and an opportunity to learn independent
skills and practice autonomy (Shelton, 2016). Transgender young adults
experiencing homelessness also focused on personal agency through
self-definition and future orientation toward their goals to combat the
negative messages they received from their families and society at large
(Shelton et al., 2018a). Among transgender youth of color experiencing
homelessness developing a sense of pride in one’s gender and racial/
ethnic identities is a component of developing resilience (Singh &
McKleroy, 2011).
This study seeks to add to this growing scholarly literature and to
illuminate specific practices and attitudes that are instrumental in
helping LGBTQ young adults experiencing family rejection and housing
stability stay resilient and focused.
2. Materials and methods
This study used a grounded theory approach to analyze interviews in
order to examine resilience among LGBTQ young adults experiencing
family rejection and housing instability. This study builds on the existing
literature on resilience among LGBTQ young adults, providing a
nuanced examination of practices and attitudes that help these young
adults maintain resilience under very stressful conditions.
2.1. Recruitment
LGBTQ-identified participants had all left home due to family
rejection but now lived in a variety of housing situations (i.e., those who
are still housed with parents, currently experiencing homelessness, or
formerly experienced homelessness) and were recruited using theoret­
ical sampling (Charmaz, 2006; Corbin & Strauss, 2008). Study partici­
pants were contacted through two methods: (1) posted advertisement
fliers and referrals from staff at both an emergency youth shelter and a
drop-in center for LGBTQ youth and (2) advertisements posted to several
local LGBTQ-themed Facebook communities for the local metropolitan
area. Potential participants contacted the first author via the contact
J.P. DeChants et al.
information provided on the advertisements and screening interviews to
determine eligibility were conducted via phone. Study materials were
reviewed and approved by the University of Denver’s Institutional Re­
view Board (IRB) on June 20th, 2018 (#1253779–1).
2.1.1. Screening criteria
Participation was limited to young adults between the ages of 18 and
26 (Stroud, Walker, Davis, & Irwin, 2015) living in the local metropol­
itan area who had experienced family rejection and experienced housing
instability due to that rejection at any point. To reduce harm or very
difficult emotions that might arise from the interview questions, in­
dividuals were excluded if they had attempted suicide or received
inpatient mental health treatment in the last two months and were not
connected to a mental health professional. Of the eighteen young adults
who responded to study advertisements, fifteen participants were
screened into the study and each completed two interviews spaced one
month apart. The full demographic information, including ages, racial
identity, gender identity, pronouns, sexual orientation, and recruitment
site, for the fifteen participants in the sample can be found in Table 1.
2.2. Interviews
Each participant was invited to participate in two semi-structured
interviews conducted by the first author. The first interview explored
participants’ experiences with family rejection and housing in detail and
lasted an average of 40 min, with a range from 18 to 71 min. The second
interview, conducted approximately one month later and lasting an
average of 15 min with a range from five to 28 min, was an opportunity
to conduct member checking about emerging themes and ask if the
participant had any new information to share (Creswell & Poth, 2016).
The second interview also included a photo elicitation prompt, asking
participants to bring a photo which represented feeling “at home”.
Sharing a photograph was requested but not required for participation in
the study. To compensate participants for their time and expertise, they
received a $20 gift card for the first interview and a $10 gift card for the
second. Interviews primarily took place at the agencies where recruit­
ment occurred. Due to scheduling conflicts, one interview was held at a
local library and one was conducted via Skype. Participants were
interviewed using semi-structured protocols (Charmaz, 2006), to cap­
ture participants’ demographic characteristics, experiences of family
rejection of their LGBTQ identities,’ experiences of housing instability,
and attitudes and practices for maintaining resilience.
2.3. Data analysis
The thirty interviews with 15 study participants yielded just over 13
h of recorded data that was subsequently transcribed and analyzed using
DeDoose software. Data analysis was conducted in three phases by the
first author. First, transcripts were open coded to identify both emerging
themes and clarifying questions to discuss with participants at their
second interviews (Saldaña, 2015). Transcripts from the second in­
terviews were also open coded for emerging themes after data collection
was complete. Analytical memos were used to record ideas and ques­
tions for future analysis (Creswell, & Poth, 2016; Saldaña, 2015). Next,
codes and excerpts from both interviews were sorted into groups by
themes and subthemes and then organized into a codebook which was
reviewed by the other authors. Again, memos were used to record the
process and any decisions made when discerning themes and subthemes.
Finally, axial coding examined relationships between themes generated
during the second phase to determine their characteristics and di­
mensions (Saldaña, 2015). Five participants submitted photos in
response to the photo elicitation prompt. Participants’ discussion of
their photos in the research interview was coded and is included in the
themes presented; the photos themselves were not coded. As with any
research where an individual is the analytical tool, this analysis was
impacted by the author’s subjectivity and positionalities as a queer,
3
Children and Youth Services Review 139 (2022) 106552
transgender person who had not experienced family rejection or housing
instability (Bourke, 2014). This study used a variety of strategies to
enhance analytical rigor: multiple research interviews allowed for data
triangulation and member checking, analytical and reflexive memos
were used to document decisions made during data collection and
analysis, and within-case and across-case comparison analysis were used
in order to look for similarities and examine outliers for any explanatory
significance.
3. Results
Young adults described the attitudes and practices they used to
maintain resilience throughout family rejection and housing instability.
Analyses revealed three main themes: young adults strategized: taking
agency, making plans, and learning lessons; connected: getting support
from individuals, institutions, and communities, and engaging in their
own altruism; and, coped: focusing on goals, maintaining motivation,
and using creativity. Thematic coding also identified several subthemes.
It is important to note that the themes and subthemes are not mutually
exclusive. All of the young adults who participated in this study reported
engaging in multiple forms of resilience and many reported overlaps
among themes and subthemes when sharing the complexity of their
lived experiences. A table listing these practices and attitudes by theme
can be found in Fig. 1.
3.1. Strategize
Young adults described the necessity of developing strategies for
navigating the uncertainty of family rejection and housing instability.
They used these strategies to both meet their basic needs (food, shelter,
etc.) and move toward their future goals (fulfilling employment, stable
housing, etc.). Subthemes included taking agency over their lives,
making plans, reflecting on the lessons they learned from previous ex­
periences, and engaging in resistance against heterosexism and cisgen­
derism in their families and society at large.
Taking agency: “I’m going to work on taking control of my life back”
Many participants described how their families’ rejection of their
LGBTQ identities and resulting housing instability motivated them to
take agency over their own lives. Several of these young adults came
from families where their parents exerted a high level of control over
their social lives and appearance (Authors, Under Review). Making the
decision to disregard their parents’ wishes and make personal choices on
their own terms was cited as a common practice of resilience among
study participants. Bryan (African American, cis male, gay) described
the moment he came to this realization, during an argument with his
mother, “She said this one comment to me in the kitchen and as soon as
she said that I snapped and woke up … I’m not going to let other people
have this control over me.” He described how that hardened his resolve
to leave home and take control of his life: “I’m going to work on to taking
control of my life back and my happiness back, because my entire life
has been out of my control so now I want to take that back.”.
For other young adults in this study, the decision to take agency was
a slow and incremental realization. Learning to focus on themselves and
their own needs was not always easy. Noah (White, male, gay) struggled
with the decision to leave his family, choosing to leave his mother who
was supportive of his gay identity but struggled with addiction. He re­
flected on that hard decision, “I was like, ‘I’m trying to help myself and I
can’t help myself. I’m definitely not gonna be able to help someone
else.’” Tyler (White, transmasculine, queer2) described how all of the
difficulty they had encountered since being kicked out of their parents’
2 2
“Queer” is an umbrella term used to describe a number of non-
heterosexual sexual orientations and was used by several participants to
describe the sexual orientation.
J.P. DeChants et al. Children and Youth Services Review 139 (2022) 106552

Table 1
Study Participant Characteristics.
Pseudonym Age Race/Ethnicity Gender Identity Pronouns Sexual Orientation Recruitment Site

Nicole 18 White Female She, her, hers Bisexual Shelter

Riley 19 Hispanic Non-binary, Queer They, them, theirs Pansexual Shelter
Lee 20 White Male He, him, his Gay Shelter
Sammi 19 Declined to answer Questioning She, her, hers Pansexual Shelter
Blue 20 Hispanic/Latino Transmasculine He, him, his Bisexual Drop in
Tyler 22 White Transmasculine He, him, his/They, them, theirs Queer Drop in
Noah 20 White Male He, him, his Gay Shelter
Hannah 22 White, Eastern European, Jewish Non-binary She, her, hers/They, them, theirs Queer Online
Alex 19 Black Male He, him, his Bisexual Shelter
Bryan 21 African American Cis male He, him, his Gay Online
Lucy 22 White Female She, her, hers Gay Online
Miley 18 White Fluctuates He, him, his Gay Shelter
Benjamin 19 White Male He, him, his Bisexual Drop In
Elena 25 Caucasian Female She, her, hers Queer Online
Aaron 26 Caucasian Non-binary They, them, theirs Queer Online

Strategize Connect Cope

- Taking agency - Support from personal relationships - Focusing on goals

- Making plans - Connecting to institutions - Maintaining motivation
- Leaning lessons - Finding supportive communities - Using creativity
- Valuing altruism

Fig. 1. Resilience practices and attitudes reported by LGBTQ young adults. Dotted lines denote the ways the categories overlap.

house was still worth it and still better than living the life their parents
wanted for them: “This is a life that I’ve chosen for myself. As opposed to
one that I’ve been forced into.” This sense of choice and agency was an
important attitude for young adults in the study. It allowed them to
imagine their lives and their futures beyond the stifling environments of
their family homes.
Making Plans: “Oh yeah, I was planning. I was extremely planning”
Several young adults in the study channeled their desire to take
agency over their lives into making plans for their future goals by
gathering information, weighing options, and deciding on a course of
action. Nicole’s (White, female, bisexual3) story typified this process.
She planned to leave her parents’ abusive home on her eighteenth
birthday. In her own words, Nicole reported, “Oh yeah, I was planning. I
was extremely planning.” Prior to turning 18, she researched options.
Nicole decided to fly to another state to move in with her boyfriend. The
relationship with her boyfriend ended after Nicole arrived and she once
again found her planning skills were useful. She recalled, “I used Google
… I said, ‘homeless shelters in [city name]’, and then it said [shelter
name] … I called them and I said, ‘What are the qualifications? What can
I bring? What can I not bring?’” Other young adults also reported using
internet search tools like Google to find local shelters when they needed
to make plans about alternative housing options.
Nicole and other youth used their planning skills to manage their
belongings during housing instability. Nicole started by paring down her
belongings: “I became a minimalist and literally threw all my stuff out
that I didn’t need.”. Tyler (White, transmasculine, queer) described the
importance of prioritizing their belongings when living out of a back­
pack, “I definitely had a backpack that had any emergency contacts … if
something happened to me, then police would know who to call.” They
also carried a small box around with items to help them stay grounded
and calm, “Somebody had given me a bottle of lavender. And then I had
Play-Doh, and then I had just a little notebook.” These items helped
3 3
Participants’ identities are described using the language that they used to
self-identify during the study screening interview.
Tyler cope- a theme described more thoroughly below- with the stress of
their family’s rejection and life on the streets. Tyler noted, “Just because
like, instead of turning to drugs, and that stuff, you need something to
mentally occupy you”, indicating that Tyler was planning ahead for
future stressors, preemptively identifying healthy coping techniques,
and including them in their limited belongings. This practice of planning
which items they would need to keep, and of prioritizing items which
supported their mental health, helped youth maintain resilience.
Learning Lessons: “I grew so much as a person”
A number of young people reported that remembering and reflecting
on all that they had learned and overcome during their housing insta­
bility helped them cultivate resilience. These lessons helped them
maintain confidence in their own abilities, develop informed strategies,
and shape their future plans. Similarly, Bryan (African American, cis
male, gay) noted that his experiences had made him stronger: “It just
shows how much resilience I actually do have and how much resolve I
have and how I can actually problem solve.” Ben (White, male, bisexual)
explained, “I have gotten very good at taking care of myself and finding
resources … I could land in any city … and I would still be able to find
some way to make it, just because I’ve had to.” The practice of reflecting
on their growth helped these young adults stay resilient throughout their
experiences of family rejection and housing instability.
3.2. Connect
Young adults in this study also cited the connections they had with
people, institutions, or communities as vital sources of support and
resilience. They cited their smart phones as an important tool, allowing
them to stay connected with supportive friends and family and find
services. Tyler (White, transmasculine, queer) described: “Getting a
phone was definitely my first priority, because I figure if I had access to
that then I could essentially get access to anything else I needed.” Sub­
themes included personal relationships, connections to institutions like
schools or jobs, informal supportive communities, and a strong sense of
altruism or wanting to give back.

4
J.P. DeChants et al.
Accessing Support from Personal Relationships: “Find those people
who are good”
The most frequently reported source of connection was young adults’
relationships with supportive partners, family, and friends. These re­
lationships frequently filled the holes in their lives left after their parents
or guardians refused to accept their LGBTQ identity. When asked to
share a photo of what made them feel at home, Tyler (White, trans­
masculine, queer) described a selfie of them and their partner on a hike:
“Everyone has a photo of their family on their desk… I’d set this on my
desk and look at it all the time to remind me that this is what I’m doing
this for.” This support helped young adults maintain resilience.
For some young adults who were still in contact with their families,
the same family members who rejected their LGBTQ identities were also
their source of emotional support. Despite the fact that his mother had
been unsupportive of his gay identity, Bryan (African American, cis
male, gay) still looked up to her as a source of inspiration and resilience:
“So, whenever I’m going through something hard, it’s like, ‘What would
my mom do? How would my mom handle this?’ … That kind of gives me
that resilience and makes me hopeful.” Riley (Hispanic, non-binary,
pansexual) expressed hope that their grandmother would eventually
come to accept them, but their relationship was so important to Riley
that they were also prepared to delay their gender transition if she did
not: “I just hope that I could continue having a relationship with her
until her time comes … because I’m the only person she talks to in any of
the family. I just don’t want her to die lonely.”.
Other participants had cut off contact with their families and
described other adults who had come to replace their rejecting parents
or guardians. Aaron (Caucasian, non-binary, and queer) noted that
having supportive adults in their life helped them figure out some of the
nitty–gritty aspects of adulthood when they couldn’t ask their mother: “I
did have a couple adults in my life, too, who I at that point could still
speak to and bounce ideas off of because there are things like filling out
W-2 s and tax forms.” Aaron also held on to mementos and photos which
helped them stay grounded during times of stress when they were kicked
out of their mother’s home several times, calling them “home tokens”.
They described, “When I look at that little shelf, and I see those things, I
see my tiny human connections and those people who have supported
me and believed in me.” Those memories allowed Aaron to remain
resilient when facing challenges with family and housing.
Connecting to Institutions: “This is my way out”
Young adults also cited their connections to institutions, such as
places of employment, community services, and schools as sources of
support. Many study participants had jobs and wanted to become more
financially independent. Blue (Hispanic, transmasculine, bisexual) felt
supported at his job, which had policies around gender-neutral bath­
rooms and training for all employees on LGBTQ issues. Other young
adults described their connections to local community services, such as
mental health crisis centers and foodbanks. Tyler (White, transmascu­
line, queer) was well connected to community resources and described
using text lines, food banks, and local crisis centers to meet their basic
needs. They recalled of the crisis centers: “If I ever needed somewhere to
stay during the day because I didn’t feel safe, that was where I would
go.”.
For some young adults, school was also a place where they felt
accepted. Aaron (Caucasian, non-binary, and queer) chose to attend a
boarding high school for the arts to escape their mother’s heterosexist
and cisgenderist harassment and her mental health issues: “At that point
in my life, I had already chosen to apply for boarding schools because I
knew my mother and I had so many other conflicts with her need to
control me in general.” Several participants noted the role of school and
academic achievement as an escape during their time living with
abusive families. Ben (White, male, bisexual) remembered viewing
school as his way to escape his parents’ house: “I shoved my ass into
academics, cause I’m like, this is my way out.”.
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Children and Youth Services Review 139 (2022) 106552
Finding Supportive Communities: “I have a place in this world”
Several young adults described the support they received from
communities with others of similar identities or experiences. The com­
munities may have been affiliated with a program, like a drop-in space
or recovery groups, but their true value to participants was the social
community. They differed from the institutions described above because
they were groups of peers with shared identities or experiences. These
communities were welcome sources of validation after their experiences
of family rejection. Blue (Hispanic, transmasculine, bisexual) was effu­
sive about the support that he received from connections with youth and
adults who he met at a local LGBTQ youth drop-in program. When asked
to share a photo of something that made him feel at home, he brought a
photo of his closest friends who he had met at the program, stating “they
make me feel like I’m allowed to exist.” He also cited his relationships
with LGBTQ adults in the program as being a powerful antidote to his
mother’s negativity. Blue described the program: “So it’s people that
make me feel like I have a place in this world, and even if I don’t have a
physical home right now, I have an emotional and mental home with
these people.”.
Another participant described the support he received from his re­
covery community. Ben’s (White, male, bisexual) recovery fellowship
was a source of emotional support: “I can walk into a meeting anywhere
in the country and find support. Which is pretty amazing to me. I don’t
really have support in other areas of my life.” He elaborated: “I don’t
ever have to spend a holiday alone. I’ve made actual real, genuine
friends … Some people have their church, I have my fellowship.” The
fellowship was also as a source of information and material support
where Ben received tips on services and housing.
Valuing Altruism: “How do I pass that forward”:
A number of young adults in the study exhibited a strong sense of
altruism, which allowed them to feel like they were not only receiving
support, but also contributing to the connections that supported them.
Ben (White, male, bisexual) described the connections and support he
received from others experiencing housing instability, “Homeless people
help homeless people. So that’s how I found out where a lot of the food
banks and stuff like that were.” While living on the streets, Tyler (White,
transmasculine, queer) described volunteering at the food bank where
they received groceries as a way to have something to do and give back:
“I was like, I have nothing better to do with my time, and I would love to
help other people who are struggling with this.” These acts of altruism
illustrated young adults’ capacity to care for and about others even in
the midst of incredible chaos and uncertainty in their own lives.
3.3. Cope
Participants reported a number of coping techniques for managing
the stress of family rejection and housing instability. These practices and
attitudes allowed young adults to stay grounded and focused, despite the
challenges of their day-to-day lives. Subthemes included focusing on
their goals, maintaining their sense of motivation and perseverance,
finding outlets for creative expression.
Focusing on Goals: “I just want to move forward”
Participants coped with the uncertainty of family rejection and
housing instability by establishing and focusing on both short- and long-
term goals for their future. Young adults’ primary short-term goal was
finding stable, safe housing. Blue’s (Hispanic, transmasculine, bisexual)
most pressing goal was moving out of his unaccepting mother’s house,
which he had moved back into after initially leaving after coming out. In
the meantime, he was intentional about preparing for that goal. He
treated his basement room as his own small apartment and started
accumulating home supplies: “I have a habit of collecting little things for
when I’m able to move out. So right now, I’ve collected Tupperware, a
kitchen set.” Blue’s practice of managing his belongings (as described in
J.P. DeChants et al.
a previous theme) in anticipation of his goal of moving out gave him an
outlet and a way to take action, even while feeling stifled by his mother’s
rejection.
Other participants focused on long-term goals. Riley (Hispanic, non-
binary, pansexual) named a number of future goals for their housing and
employment, including living in an RV to travel around the world,
making films, becoming an EMT, and owning their own farm. These
diverse goals represented Riley’s positive sense of self, their capabilities,
and their future: “I just feel like, the potential in myself.” Alex (Black,
male, bisexual) echoed this sentiment, noting the importance of focusing
on the future: “I would always tell myself, I shouldn’t look back on the
past, because I’m only going to get pulled back farther than how I was …
So, I just want to move forward.”.
Maintaining Motivation: “If you just give up, you could stay here for
years”
Participants coped with the stress of family rejection and housing
instability by harnessing their sense of motivation. In particular, several
participants described how their status as parents provided direction for
their future. Sammi (declined to identify race, identified gender as
questioning, pansexual) shared that her daughter was her biggest source
of motivation: “My life can be second, I need taking care of my daughter
first.” Similarly, Alex (Black, male, bisexual) explained how his son
motivated him: “When I look at my son, I’m pretty much doing every­
thing for him … Yeah. I’m doing everything for him, nobody else … I
have to get up every day, do what I gotta do, just for him.” Other young
adults expressed similar sentiments about their younger siblings. Bryan
(African American, cis male, gay) described his sense of connection and
responsibility toward his sister: “I don’t want to be another adult figure
in her life that disappoints her. So that kind of pushed me.”.
Other young adults drew motivation from their desire to move out of
undesirable housing situations. Specifically, several participants re­
ported that they were extremely motivated to move out of the emer­
gency shelter. Nicole (White, female, bisexual) explained, “Just trying to
get out of here as fast as I can.” The physical discomforts of living in
shelter- sharing dorm and restroom spaces with other young adults,
drama among shelter residents- provided strong motivation for young
adults to stay focused on their long-term housing goals.
Using Creativity: “Get all of those thoughts out on paper”
Many young adults in the sample reported using creativity as an
outlet for their thoughts and emotions and as a tool to help them focus
on the positive. Creativity was conceptualized as any activity related to
consuming art or expressing themselves in an artistic or reflective
manner. Tyler (White, transmasculine, queer) described how journaling
provided them with a way to release their feelings and a place to track
their successes: “So you get all of those thoughts out on paper, and you
sometimes look back, and you’re like, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize that I was
struggling with this that much.’” Elena (Caucasian, female, queer) also
remembered being a prolific writer when her mother repeatedly kicked
her out and she bounced between her mother’s house and couch surfing
with friends: “I have a big milk crate full of just journals that are just
from that time period,’cause I was filling them up one right after the
other.” The journals helped her cope, giving her a place to think about
her life after she would leave: “But there’s a lot of writing for future
planning and, ‘This is what I’m going to do first when I get out of the
house.’” Other young adults reported they coped by drawing, writing
poetry, taking photos, or listening to music. Alex (Black, male, bisexual)
described how listening to music was a collective coping mechanism and
source of connection with his peers in the shelter, “Yeah, we listen to
music every Friday night and stuff … It’s kind of a little support group
kind of. Our own little support group.” These creative outlets gave young
adults a place to cope with their emotions in the controlling environ­
ment of their families’ homes and a place to plan for their future de­
parture and life.
6
Children and Youth Services Review 139 (2022) 106552
4. Discussion
Previous scholarship has established that when LGBTQ young adults
face the difficulties of family rejection and housing instability, they
exhibit tremendous resilience (Shelton, et al., 2018a; Wagaman et al.,
2019). This study sought to build upon this literature by illuminating the
specific attitudes and practices that young people use to build and
maintain that resilience.
Many participants in this study reported that they had a moment, or
series of moments, when they realized they needed to take control and
agency over their own lives. This agency manifested as making the de­
cision to leave home, pursue education, or work towards a career. It
involved young adults shedding some of the heterosexist and cisgen­
derist expectations that their families placed on them. These findings
align with other studies that have found that asserting personal agency
over one’s life is an important form of resilience among LGBTQ gener­
ally (Asakura, 2017), and transgender youth experiencing homelessness
specifically (Shelton, et al. 2018a). They also raise important questions
for practitioners working with LGBTQ young adults about how to sup­
port young people as they grow into independent adulthood- how to
promote both youth agency and safety? How to support LGBTQ young
adults in making their own decisions, while also offering support and
knowledge that they may not otherwise have access to?
A number of young adults cited their planning skills as a source of
resilience and motivation during their housing instability. They gath­
ered information, examined their options, and created goals. They
organized their belongings to make sure that they had what they needed
as they changed housing situations. In addition to planning, young
adults also reflected on the lessons they had learned from their experi­
ences of family rejection and housing instability. They noticed the
growth that they had undergone and the strength and skills they had
acquired. They employed these skills as they continued to plan and
strategize for the future. These findings highlight the skills that LGBTQ
young adults use to navigate housing instability and which they could in
turn apply to jobs or higher education.
Young adults also credited their connections to people, institutions,
and communities as important sources of support. Nearly all the young
adults in the study described the support they received from their re­
lationships with friends, supportive adults, and family were instru­
mental in their ability to maintain resilience during their experiences of
family rejection and housing instability. These relationships gave young
adults emotional support, knowledge about navigating adult systems,
and validation in their LGBTQ identities. This aligns with previous
scholarship which has found that establishing meaningful connections
with others is a component of LGBTQ youth resilience (Asakura, 2017;
Shelton, 2016). It also highlights the need- particularly amidst the dis­
ruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic- to maintain young adults’ access to
supportive adults, friends, and family as an important source of support.
Young adults also described the support they received from in­
stitutions such as places of employment, community services, and
school. A number of young adults described using school as a way to
prepare to leave their families’ homes and as a tool toward their desired
career.
These findings complement existing scholarship which has found
that increasing LGBTQ cultural competency in youth-serving in­
stitutions can help LGBTQ youth and young adults feel supported
(Asakura, 2016). Participants also noted the role of informal commu­
nities in supporting them. For several young adults this was the service
agency where they could meet other LGBTQ youth and adults. These
findings support scholarship noting the important role that LGBTQ peers
play in supporting and affirming LGBTQ young adults, with some young
adults reporting that they prefer the community they find on the streets
to their home lives (Shelton, 2016; Castellanos, 2016). Additional
scholarship has documented the impact of supportive adults in the lives
of LGBTQ youth, finding that these relationships are associated with
lower risk of attempting suicide in the last year (The Trevor Project,
J.P. DeChants et al.
2019).
Many participants described a strong sense of altruism that con­
nected them to other people. They not only wanted to receive support,
they also wanted to be sources of support to people in their lives. Young
adults were interested in participating in activism and advocacy to
improve services for other young people in similar circumstances. Asa­
kura reported similar findings, that engaging in activism as a form of
collective healing is a component of LGBTQ youth resilience (2017).
This also supports work which has found that young people experiencing
homelessness are interested in taking part in social action and change
but rarely offered the opportunity (Bender et al., 2018). These findings
highlight the need for more peer-to-peer opportunities for LGBTQ young
adults experiencing homelessness to connect with one another in
structured and supportive ways, to offer guidance and perspective.
Finally, young adults in this study reported a number of coping
practices for managing the stress of family rejection and housing insta­
bility. Participants explained that focusing on their future goals helped
them maintain resilience and focus. These goals could be about moving
out of a bad living situation or deciding what kind of work they wanted
to do. The act of articulating their desires for the future helped young
adults remain resilient. Participants also described their sources of
motivation and perseverance. Some were motivated by relationships,
specifically with their children. Others were motivated by the goals they
established for themselves. Finally, many young adults described the
importance of having a creative outlet for their thoughts and emotions.
Several young adults mentioned journaling- others recalled painting,
drawing, or listening to music. This aligns with previous scholarship
which found young adults experiencing homelessness rely on creativity
as a form of enhanced coping and resilience (Cronley, & Evans, 2017).
Practitioners can build off of this practice of resilience by incorporating
more artistic and creative outlets into existing housing programs.
4.1. Limitations
The findings of this study, with its small sample recruited from ser­
vice agencies and online communities in one metropolitan area, are not
generalizable to all LGBTQ young adults experiencing family rejection
and housing instability. In this study, analysis was conducted by the first
author, a queer, transgender person who had not experienced family
rejection or housing instability. These identities and experiences influ­
enced the analysis and presentations of findings (Bourke, 2014) and may
have also impacted young adults’ willingness to share in the research
interviews, both positively and negatively. While study participants did
come from a variety of racial and ethnic identities, the experiences of
heterosexism and cisgenderism are heavily racialized (Ferguson, 2004)
and the sample did not reflect the overrepresentation of people of color
among LGBTQ young adults experiencing housing instability (Choi
et al., 2015). There was also insufficient data to explore youths’ inter­
sectional identities, or the ways that their face/ethnicity, ability, reli­
gion, or immigration status may have interacted with their sexual
orientations and gender identities (Crenshaw, 2017). Combining expe­
riences reported by young adults of diverse identities (race, ability, class,
etc.) together in one sample may flatten or erase some differences in
experiences.
Nonetheless, this study offers a deep and thorough exploration of the
experiences of LGBTQ young adults experiencing family rejection and
housing instability. By including young adults of many identities in one
sample, this study focused on the shared impact of heterosexism and
cisgenderism. To illuminate the ways in which White supremacy in­
tersects with family rejection and housing instability, future research
should include more LGBTQ young adults of different racial and ethnic
groups. Future research should also attend to intersections of identity
which may produce unique challenges and unique practices of
resilience.
7
Children and Youth Services Review 139 (2022) 106552
4.2. Implications
This study fills a critical gap in our understanding of LGBTQ young
adults’ techniques for developing and maintaining resilience amidst the
pain and stress of family rejection and housing instability. The findings
of this study align with a small but growing scholarly literature about the
resilience of LGBTQ young adults experiencing housing instability
(Shelton, 2016; Shelton et al., 2018a). Future social work research
should continue to examine the explanatory power of the themes from
this study for young adult’s resilience amidst family rejection and
housing instability. First, the themes should be examined further among
similarly situated but more racially diverse samples in other geographic
areas to determine if the themes of strategizing, coping, and connecting
are applicable to LGBTQ young adults, with diverse social and
geographical locations. Future research should also assess for differ­
ences in young adults’ experiences across rural, suburban, and urban
environments.
This study also holds implications for social work practice with
LGBTQ young adults experiencing family rejection and housing insta­
bility. Housing providers serving young adults should pay attention to
have a strengths-based orientation to their case management and
housing programming and these themes offer concrete insight as to how
to incorporate youths’ strengths. Providers can capitalize on many
young adults’ planning and strategizing skills by providing case man­
agement that focuses on the young adults’ own goals and plans, rather
than the outcomes frequently determined by funders. Planning and
strategizing both fall under the larger umbrella of executive functioning,
which has been thoroughly investigated among students (Meltzer, 2018)
but is less well understood among young adults experiencing home­
lessness. Future research may examine this potential relationship be­
tween young adults’ capacity to engage in long-term planning and their
sense of resilience. Providers should include LGBTQ young adults at risk
of housing instability in these case management programs, developing
outreach efforts online or through peers in order to reach young adults
before they are forced to leave home. Providing counseling about how to
come out safely and investigate housing options while still living in their
family homes may decrease LGBTQ young adult homelessness.
Housing services also tend to treat young adults as isolated in­
dividuals, ignoring the social connections that young adults rely on for
material and emotional support. Service providers should consider
asking young adults about significant people or communities when
assessing risks and assets in the young adult’s life. Because young adults
experiencing family rejection and homelessness are frequently isolated
from their family networks, it is important to help young adults build
news networks of support, including discussing healthy relationships
and boundaries. Establishing mentoring programs with LGBTQ adults
could provide LGBTQ youth with support and affirmation they may not
receive from their families. Providers should also consider incorporating
opportunities for community service for young adults, who express a
strong sense of altruism and wanting to give back. The Housing First for
Youth model is an innovative framework which provides housing for
young people experiencing homelessness and then subsequently seeks to
connect them with other supportive services (Gaetz et al., 2018). This
low-barrier housing model may be an effective venue for practitioners to
work with LGBTQ young adults to refine and capitalize on the resilience
practices outlined in this study.
Finally, service providers should consider developing programming
to help young adults develop and maintain the positive coping tech­
niques cited by participants in this study, including more resources for
arts programs that provide outlets for self-expression. Asking young
adults regularly about their goals can help them maintain a sense of
motivation. Providing opportunities for creativity and self-expression
can help young adults stay focused on those goals and give them an
outlet for frustration or stress. The findings of this study also align with
other scholarship that has documented the need for ongoing training on
LGBTQ identities for housing program staff (Abramovich, 2016; Shelton,
J.P. DeChants et al.
2015).
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Jonah P. DeChants: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal
analysis, Investigation, Data curation, Writing – original draft, Writing –
review & editing. Jama Shelton: Conceptualization, Resources, Data
curation, Writing – review & editing, Supervision. Yolanda Anyon:
Methodology, Software, Resources, Writing – review & editing, Super­
vision. Kimberly Bender: Conceptualization, Resources, Writing – re­
view & editing, Supervision.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
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