Houston's first LGBTQ+ emergency shelter for teens to open
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The living room in the six-bed house. Photo: Raul Chaidez, courtesy of the Montrose Center
Houston is opening its first LGBTQ+-affirming emergency shelter for homeless teens to stay temporarily.
Why it matters: Teens have few shelter options, especially queer-friendly ones, when they leave or are kicked out of an unsafe home, Grace Place executive director Courtney Sellers tells Axios.
Driving the news: Grace Place, a Houston nonprofit that supports young people experiencing homelessness, will open Asia's House on Sept. 1 with support from the Montrose Center.
- The six-bed emergency shelter will serve 15- to 17-year-olds experiencing homelessness or housing instability in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.
- The shelter is open to young people of all sexualities and gender identities.
How it works: Teens can enter the program voluntarily without a parent or guardian signing them in.
- Staff must attempt to contact their parent or guardian within 72 hours.
- The goal is to find safe, stable long-term housing within 21 days, whether that's returning home with additional support or finding another placement.
Zoom in: Asia's House includes an office, a clothing closet where teens can get clothes and essentials, and a therapy room for on-site counseling.
- The shelter will also provide case management, life skills training and education and employment support.
- The location is not being disclosed to protect residents' safety and privacy.
What they're saying: "What makes our space unique is that we accept youth of all sexualities and genders, and we're affirming to all youth," Sellers says.
- "We know that the need is there," she says, adding Grace Place already regularly hears from young people looking for somewhere to stay.
Between the lines: Asia's House is specifically seeking to serve 15- to 17-year-olds because they can fall between existing systems.
- Adult shelters can't take minors, while other youth shelters may operate through CPS placements or require parents to consent to a stay, Sellers says.
- "There's this large group of young people who are older teens who are left in this limbo," she says.
Asia's House is named after Asia Jynaé Foster, a young transgender Houstonian and Grace Place community member who was murdered in 2020 and had advocated for this kind of support.