Bella Davenport had been homeless as a teenager in Philadelphia. She moved to California when she was 17 and started attending college.
“I was house-hopping,” she said. “Living expenses were outrageous.”
“After exhausting all my couches and parks in terrible weather, I came back to Philadelphia,” said Davenport, who identifies as bisexual.
She had a friend who received help from Valley Youth House, an Allentown-based organization with offices in Philadelphia to help young people with housing and life skills. Davenport joined the group’s Pride program.
“I didn’t get my sense of LGBT community until the Pride program,” she said. “When you’re bisexual, you’re kind of discriminated against in the LGBT community. I was never welcomed completely.”
Noah Brown got to know Davenport through the Pride program. He also became homeless during college at the University of Valley Forge. He was living off campus when the building was deemed uninhabitable by local authorities. He left school and had nowhere to turn until he found Valley Youth House.
“It’s a saving grace for the LGBT community,” he said. “That’s what I’d call it.”
Brown is back in classes at Delaware County Community College working toward a bachelor’s degree in political science.
To give back to the organization that helped them find housing and community, Davenport and Brown joined Valley Youth House in a Youth Count Jan. 27 in Love Park. The annual survey tracks homeless youth in Philadelphia and details their stories. Last year’s count found that 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBT.
Davenport and others from Valley Youth House led Philadelphia City Council representatives through a day of the Youth Count. Councilwoman Helen Gym, elected in November, invited her council colleagues to the count. She will serve as chairwoman of the new Committee on Children and Youth.
“One of the things we’re trying to understand is the dedicated funding stream for this issue and any gaps in city services,” Gym said.
Council President Darrell Clarke said councilmembers would debrief after the count to discuss the level of support that’s required.
Volunteers spoke with about a dozen young people who were homeless. Gym said she was taking note of how long the survey took and what kinds of questions it asked. She said it was important to watch the Youth Count in action instead of only seeing the data it generates.
“You can’t do this work behind a desk,” Gym said. “This gives us an appreciation of why the numbers are so difficult to ascertain and respect for the groups who do this.”
“It’s important to care for the needs of communities we don’t often hear from,” she said. “Some young LGBT people may feel uncertain about coming out.”
Kristy Schneider, Valley Youth House program supervisor for the Supervised Independent Living program, said wintertime is particularly difficult for young homeless people.
“Adult shelters are completely full,” Schneider said, noting there aren’t many youth-focused spaces.
Kyana Hopkins, life skills counselor for the Supervised Independent Living program, noted Covenant House on East Armat Street in Germantown as a place where youth could spend the night. She said young homeless people are resourceful during the day.
“They know what programs they can stay at all day, but at night it’s a different story,” she said.
Davenport said she’s seen her peers stick to warm places where the food is cheap, like fast food restaurants, or subway stations where they can also perform for small change.
Hopkins said homeless young people might not want to accept help right away.
“They’re scared,” she said. “They might say no. But we give them our information so they know they have resources.”