Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Gay-Affirmative Social Work Practice With Homeless Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Youth, Aissa Deloatch-Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth are overrepresented in the homeless population and experience higher rates of discrimination and unfair treatment when accessing services and shelter. Research indicates that homeless LGBT youth remain homeless for longer periods of time than their heterosexual peers because of bias and stigmas associated with their gender identity and sexual orientation. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine if social workers in the city of New Haven, Connecticut, used an affirmative model of intervention when working with homeless LGBT youth. Maslow’s self-affirmation theory served as the conceptual framework for this study. The interview …