About a month ago I was invited to attend and contribute to a brainstorming session on the issues surrounding local LGBT homeless teens.

Within the Orlando area there is a major problem with homeless LGBT teenagers. Many of them are kicked out of their families houses because of the sexual idenity, they then are forced to drop out of school, and many resort to selling themselves on the streets to make due. Often times older men in the area will bring them in as quasi-sex slaves and will provide them with drugs. Most of the programs that helps homeless teens in Central Florida are through religious organizations where the teenager will not feel comfortable to come out about their true identity. There are programs that help LGBT teens but many of them require the teens to go to a specific location, something difficult when they lack transportation. Also many of these programs are for all LGBT teens and so its usually filled with those of middle class families, somewhere that a homeless teen may feel uncomfortable open up at.

For whatever reason this group of people think that I actually know something about teenagers. I seem have been getting this a lot lately, its nice that people think I know something, I don't really think I know that much about teenagers. I mean it all seems pretty much like common sense to me but I guess to out of touch older people I am a little bit more in touch. Oh well, I love the idea of helping teenagers. I personally think its one of the most marketed to yet one of the most silent about their well being groups in western society so any type I can help teenagers improve their own well being I jump on it.

So I was invited to this brainstorming session about local homeless GBLT teenagers.

I agreed and was soon put on the list. Then I began getting the information about where it was. It held at the Isleworth County Club, one of central Florida's most prestigious neighborhoods. A community where millionaires move in to impress each other.

So here I was in a multi-million dollar clubhouse with a lunch served by a one of the top 70 chef's in the country.

Here I was sitting amongst millionaires, dining on some of the freshest and best food served in America, in a room that rivals that of European cathedrals I have visited and the discussion is on homelessness. I was sitting there just after driving past some of the largest homes in all of Florida, sitting with people that live in those homes and other homes like them and we're discussing homelessness.

Sure not all of the people in attendance lived in Isleworth, or even Windermere for that matter, but many of them did. I have nothing wrong with where a person lives or even how extravagant they may live. But what rub me wrong was here were people that have devoted their life to helping the less privileged in Central Florida and yet they each have a personal assistant, they all seem to live in this upper middle class or even upper class life and yet they claim to know how homeless teenagers live.

There wasn't any homeless teens there. A person brought this up during the discussion and it seemed to be quickly dismissed. The ruling train of thought was of the mindset that these people knew what a homeless LGBT teen would need more than the teen themselves because these people have the research, the education, the titles that it takes to know what to do. The answers in the room ranged from starting a twitter account to inform homeless teens where help is offered. Twitter for homeless people, um I wont even touch that. (though it could have good effects also, just I don't see it with teenagers, from my own observations teens have yet to adopt twitter like many people have believed they have. if you don't believe just do a online search about it and the results show teens dont use twitter. )

Other ideas were websites, myspace pages, in school information sessions, and family counseling. All of these ideas are good (I guess, it just showed how out of touch with technology and teenagers this group was) but in and of themselves these ideas don't do a lot of help.

The day progressed with the normal lame team building activities and brainstorming sessions with rules like 'if money wasn't an issue what would you do?' then when money was brought up it was quickly 'fixed' by the simple idea of applying for more government funding.

Here was a room filled with the who's who of central Florida homeless and teen non-profits, all of which have had cuts because of the recession and the answer they agreed upon to help people is asking for more money. Even as their budgets are slashed and they are forced to turn away people they actually think that the answer to their problem is asking for more money.

I dont have all the answers but I do know that if a group is cutting the amount they give you asking for more isn't going to work. Instead I prefer organizations that are focused on becoming self supporting. Of course the best why to do this is continue to focus on growing an endowment for the organization. (Rollins, the liberal arts college a few blocks from my apartment, has an endowment that is well over $350million. That helps them continue to improve the school and not have as much of a focus on bringing in money, instead they can focus on keeping the school competitive.) if it works for colleges and art galleries it can work for homeless non-profits.

There are many ways to raise funds for programs that don't tap into the infamously loop filled money the government offers. I for one don't want a person in Washington, DC deciding how we should spend our money on reaching the homeless population in our city. Instead it should be our money in our city.

A friend of mine worked with homeless people in Portland. He had the homeless people do art work (the supplies were gently used items from local schools and galleries) that was then displayed in local restaurants and was sold there, the money from the art work then went back into local homeless programs (the artist was able to choice what program they thought was best for the money to go towards, a great way to help the programs that the homeless see doing the best work). (Here is a similar program also in Portland).

Why can't we focus on more than one local problem? Why not let the local LGBT homeless teens work in galleries where their art is displayed? Why not create a magazine or books about their stories and then sell them to raise money for the programs? Why not open shops selling goods made by the homeless and then provide the jobs in the shop to the homeless? (I'm imagining a Ten Thousand Villages style shop but it could be anything) I would love to help write and produce a musical or play based upon the story of a local homeless LGBT teen, then through the ticket sales provide money for the local programs (I am really trying to work on this, making it a dinner theater with local foods, local foods, local story, and keeping the money raised locally. I'm hoping to have this vision realized by next fall, I'll keep you guys updated on this side project)

I was surronded by millionaires at this country club and yet they seem to completely forget their business knowledge because now we're talking about a non-profit, why? Why can't a non-profit be self sustained? I hope to see the day where our local homeless programs are not only meeting the needs of the local homeless population but also spreading the idea that a homeless non-profit doesn't have to be in a continual reactive relationship with the government.

We have people who are out of touch with the homeless population being the decision makers for them. Why not put homeless people on the boards? Why not create the jobs instead of just educated the homeless population on where to find jobs? Why not realize the government funding isn't a guarantee and if you want a service to be improving it takes more than asking for more money and then tweeting about it.