🏠 World Homeless Day – October 10, 2026 🏠
Today, people around the world come together for the 17th World Homeless Day, observed since 2010 in over 100 countries on every continent. Unlike many awareness days, it has no yearly theme, because the message never changes: everyone deserves a safe place to call home. ✨
It’s a worldwide issue, which we illustrate here with data from the USA, as data on LGBTQAI+ homelessness is still missing in many countries.
🏠 17% of sexual minority adults have experienced homelessness in their lifetime, more than twice the ~6% estimated for the general population. 71% of them experienced it for the first time as adults (Williams Institute, UCLA, 2020, USA).
🏠 In the 12 months before being surveyed, 8% of transgender adults reported recent homelessness, versus 3% of cisgender and genderqueer sexual minority adults and 1% of cisgender straight adults. Among sexual minority adults, Black respondents were the most affected, with 6% reporting recent housing instability (Williams Institute, UCLA, 2020, USA).
🏠 28% of LGBTQ+ youth report having experienced homelessness or housing instability, and they face a 120% higher risk than their peers (Covenant House California, USA). Up to 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+, while LGBTQ+ people make up only about 10% of the general youth population (National Coalition for the Homeless, USA).
🏠 The main cause is family rejection. 26% of homeless LGBTQ+ youth say they were forced out of their homes solely because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and 68% of homeless youth served by providers had a history of family rejection (National Coalition for the Homeless; Williams Institute, USA).
🏠 Once on the street, the risks multiply. 58.7% of LGBTQ+ homeless youth have been sexually victimized, compared with 33.4% of heterosexual homeless youth, and 62% have attempted suicide, versus 29% (National Coalition for the Homeless, USA). Transgender youth are 3 times more likely to engage in survival sex, trading sex for a bed, food, or safety (Canadian study cited by the National Coalition for the Homeless, Canada).
🚨 In France, 100% of homeless women have been raped within the first year (French Senate report, 2024, France).
This World Homeless Day, let’s:
- ✨ Donate clothes, goods, or time, and write to your local politicians about the change you want to see
- ✨ Look out for your community, because homelessness isn’t always visible
Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. No one should have to face the street. 💪
