I Was Blessed Today

Today I volunteered like most Sundays with homeless teens, many of whom are LGBT. One young man who usually joins me for journaling after lunch does more talking than writing; but, oh, how he blessed me today! He told me things about his past that he has hidden away for a long time. It was a privilege to be there for him while he wept tears; not many, but it was good for him.

I am not going to name any names, but we have a real problem down the road with one of the Catholic shelters. They are not treating the LGBT youth with respect. They are allowing hate speech and some of the workers and volunteers are involved in it. At our program, hate speech is NEVER TOLERATED for any reason. You will be kicked out of our program and told not to return if you engage in it.

There was a film recently of one of our transgendered youth who "lived" at that shelter briefly, briefly because she was persecuted for who she is. She was put in the male sleeping and showering areas and was also beaten by fellow residents.

In this day and age it is shocking that this still goes on, especially in an institution sponsored by a "Christian" organization. Needless to say, she received help from another local facility that specializes in housing transgendered people.

I am so glad that I volunteer for an organization that is a safe place for these young people. I am learning about a lot of things: drugs, survival sex, couch hopping, Lady Gaga, and more. My hope is to one day go out on the streets with Stand Up For Kids, but I am just not able to do that right now.

I have been getting a lot of hits on my blog recently. Keep coming back! And don't forget to visit my OCD Blog, Around and Around.

Mondays and Tuesdays I am unavailable for writing, so see y'all sometime this week!

Oh, and Camlin was right. Last week's Name That Character was from H.R. Puffinstuff. She was Witchipoo played by Billie Hayes.

I will post another character for you to guess this week!