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Syracuse’s First LGBTQ+ Affirming Youth Shelter One of the few centers in the area focusing on solving youth homelessness in the LGBTQ+ community. By Jenna Sents
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14-year-old child comes out to their parents. Their family does not understand. Screaming and yelling fills the house. The child, feeling isolated, runs to their room and hides. That night they pack a bag and run away, but where do they go? They may not know anyone to provide safe, LGBTQ-affirming hospitality. That’s where the Emergency Homeless Youth Shelter comes in. Based in Syracuse, this shelter is open to every youth 12 - 17 years old. Amber Wells, the program manager for the Rescue Mission Alliance’s Runaway and Homeless Youth Shelter in Syracuse, helped curate a center that aims to provide LGBTQ+ affirming care to the runaway youth of the city and help them develop a sense of permanency and security. Over the past few months, Wells curated a strong team of nine youth care specialists. From comforting youth who recently came out to teaching coping skills, each employee’s area of expertise brings something new to be
3 | The Good Life Spring 2024
able to work with the diverse youth that may come to the shelter. All employees undergo an extensive training program to ensure the team is all on the same page. This is crucial to make the youth of the shelter feel safe, especially in the context of their past experiences, Wells said. Wells describes the importance of this safety due to the youth’s past experiences. “Their anxiety level goes straight through the roof if they feel like two adults aren’t agreeing,” Wells said, “they’ve probably seen that turn into something way bigger than just two adults maybe not agreeing on a little thing.” One of the most important aspects of the shelter is presentation. As a mother of three, Wells understands the importance of catering to children. She framed the entire presentation of the shelter around the minds and lived experiences of youth, starting with the program documents. Wells made sure to make documents and pamphlets kid-friendly because some of the youth may be as young