When I got to Ruth Ellis Center on Wednesday for my regular volunteer shift I was surprised to see one of our youth on the cover of Between the Lines, Detroit's gay newspaper. The story was about Aaron, who has graduated to becoming a staff person. The article talks about the number of years he spent being sent to live with one family member after another. Some couldn't deal with him being gay. His gay brother was cool but there were problems between the brother and Aaron's friends. Aaron credits his time living at Ruth's House, the residential housing program, for giving him a foundation for life as an adult.
As part of the article Ruth Ellis Executive Director Jerry Peterson says that a lot of gay youth -- 800 to 1000 in the Detroit area -- are "unstably housed." Like Aaron, they're not exactly homeless because they aren't sleeping in abandoned buildings. But their living arrangements aren't steady and subject to the whims of the homeowner. The article praised Ruth Ellis Center for providing needed care for our youth in Detroit.
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