Join Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in building a Shelter of Peace!
Every night when we lay down and pray for a shelter of peace:
1,600 LGBTQ youth in New York City are homeless
25% of LGBTQ youth whose sexuality or gender identity becomes known to their families are kicked out of their homes
Less than 200 emergency shelter beds exist for LGBTQ youth
What we’re doing about it:
Koleinu’s LGBT Rights Team initiative, Shelter of Peace, is building a coalition of faith leaders ready and willing to take action. Through building awareness among people of faith and committing our congregations to take concrete actions. Together we will demand adequate budgets this year from Albany and City Hall to ensure shelter for all 4,000 homeless LGBTQ youth.
CBST is a core member of the LGBT Campaign for Homeless Shelter. Join us in building faith support by committing your congregation to join Shelter of Peace:
1: Rally for Homeless LGBTQ Youth. October 24th . Meet at 4pm, 57 Bethune St
Join Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, and the Campaign for Youth Shelter, and let the City and State know that shelter for LGBTQ youth is a priority for communities of faith. Let us know if you’ll be joining us or otherwise want to be involved.
2: Shelter of Peace Clergy Breakfast. November 8th . 57 Bethune St., 9-11 AM. This interfaith gathering of clergy will introduce you to the real lives and real stories of homeless youth and their advocates. We will equip you and your community to learn more and to take action. This is for congregational clergy only. RSVP to shelterofpeace@cbst.org.
3: Shelter of Peace Weekend of Prayer and Education , January 20th .
Commit your congregation to by speaking at a service, sharing a prayer or leading a teaching to educate your community on youth homelessness in NYC. Your message will be part of a city-wide effort to create a Shelter of Peace for homeless youth.
4: Weekly “Weather Report”. Every week in services congregations across the city will share the number of youth on our streets, along with the current temperature.
5: Shelter of Peace Action Network.
Participate in collective actions with congregations across NYC, including rallies, petitions, letter-writing campaigns and advocacy at City Hall and in Albany to ensure sufficient funding for LBGTQ Homeless Youth Shelter.
Carl Siciliano is organizing a rally for October 24th at Union Square. The purpose of the rally is to give a heads up to Albany and City hall that New Yorkers are prepared to demand the budget for homeless youth services not just be restored, but increased to where it must be to make a significant improvement for our kids.
As part of the awareness campaign within CBST, Koleinu LGBT Rights is sponsoring the kiddush on the Friday night service of sukkot. We will have the clergy present that night say a few words, and will have a take-away sheet with facts on homeless LGBT youths in NYC, and dates of rally, briefing and the January 20th launch.
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