DDing dong will visit shelters and housing projects that center trans/gender-nonconforming youth in Los Angeles, as a first step toward creating Korea's first LGBTQ youth shelter. Many LGBTQ youth in Korea make the difficult decision to leave home to escape violence-only to face discrimination at cisgendered male/female shelters. By creating safe and sustainable housing for youth, DDing Dong will address the high risk posed by lack of housing and more effectively support LGBTQ youth in crisis.
Over 40% of LGBTQ youth in Korea experience hate speech from shelter workers or other shelter youth, or were not granted shelter entry due to their gender identity (DDing dong, 2021). Creating a safe, stable place in Korea where LGBTQ youth who have left home can stay will amplify the positive impact of crisis support services DDing Dong is already providing, and serve as a case study to develop more housing for LGBTQ youth in the country.
DDing Dong staff will collect case studies of shelter operations overseas and learn from staff at currently operating LGBTQ youth shelters, in order to set specific plans and prepare a strong beginning for the first domestic LGBTQ youth shelter in Korea. <2022 ILGA World Conference> through session presentations, staff will make LGBTQ youth issues and realities in Korea known worldwide, and network with various organizations and individuals gathered under the theme of 'LGBTIQ Youth.'
This project to visit with organizations overseas will make critical information available to staff as they lay a foundation for the first LGBTQ youth shelter in Korea. The shelter will be a safe place where LGBTQ youth can stay, but also receive care and support to become independent. It will set a precedent for what LGBTQ youth housing can look like in the country, and improve youth welfare in Korean society.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
