LGBTQ Emerging Adults: Their Experiences with Homelessness

Using a qualitative method, this study explored the experiences of emerging adults (ages 18-24) who are LGBTQ and homeless in the Charlotte/Mecklenburg area of North Carolina. Emerging adults who are homeless and identify as LGBTQ are shown to have different health and safety concerns compared to peers. Because of these unique factors, researchers suggest these individuals require specific social services that cater to their needs. Nine face-to-face interviews were conducted which resulted in a total of 9 hours of collected data. In order to ensure that research results are as accurate as possible, grounded theorists suggest that one have at least fifty hours of collected data (Charmaz, 2006). Therefore, this study uses a grounded theory method as a guide to explore the experiences of emerging adults who identify as LGBTQ and are homeless. Questions in this study were designed to explore participants’ experiences with community-based outreach services and their overall experience with homelessness. This paper addresses three major themes found within the data: unsafe shelter conditions for LGBTQ individuals, couch surfing, and resiliency. Participants who had access to organizations such as RAIN (REGIONAL AIDS INTERFAITH NETWORK) which provided social support systems, were in college, and living a healthy lifestyle. Data suggests that those with a strong social capital are more likely to be successful (in their definition of the word)

“I Don’t Fit in a Box; No One Does:” Intersectionality and Gay Male Identity

Using an intersectionality framework, this qualitative study explores how stigma affects identity development and how intersecting identities can compound to either foster resiliency or create health concerns for 11 men who are emerging adults (18-29), same sex identified, African American, HIV +, and homeless. Semi-structured one-on-one interviews were conducted through RAIN (Regional Aids Interfaith Network) in Charlotte, NC. Questions were formulated to understand how participants view themselves and perceived stigmas, current/past health conditions, and their five to ten year prospects. This study uses grounded theory as a guide to analyze and interpret data. Themes explored include: risks (acquiring HIV through homeless status), biographical disruptions, and self-acceptance as a foundation to resiliency through self-empowerment. All participants in this study displayed resilient behaviors post-diagnosis to present, even those who experienced the worse “biographical disruptions.” Participants all spoke about being a survivor of sorts. I found that, for my participants, owning one’s identity created a buffer against the adverse effects of stigma

Green Infrastructure, Revitalization, and Sustainability

MCOM 441 Class “American Sponge City: Alternative Water Structures” Avery Davis: “The Los Angeles River: A City’s Urban Heartbeat” Robyn M. B. Stuber “Linking Social Sustainability to Sea Level Rise Through Vulnerability in Wicomico County, Maryland” Brent Cagle “Water Resources and Plant-Based Eating: Radical Lifestyle or Reality Check?

Water Resources and Plant-Based Eating: Radical Lifestyle or Reality Check?

Just this week, two interconnecting pieces of information helped to draw our attention to how the vital resource of water may be related to the long-held practice of raising and consuming animals for food. The first is the unprecedented state-wide mandatory water reductions put into place by California Governor Jerry Brown on April 1. The second is the April 5 report from the federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, made up of nutritionists, who decided for the first time this year to factor in environmental sustainability as it considered its recommendations. A full 50% of water use in the United States is in animal agriculture, giving added context to increasing water shortages in California and elsewhere. The federal panel considering sustainability and diet found that a diet lower in animal-based foods is not only healthier for people, but also has less of a negative environmental impact, including impact on the use of water resources. These two data points are just a few of the many we are seeing weekly, as people reflect on the use of water in animal agribusiness, and as we study the impacts of the food production system on people, the animals themselves, and our planet. This paper will focus on exploring some of the wealth of information we now have connecting the commodification of farmed animals to degradation of the environment in multiple ways, highlighting water concerns. Intersecting human, animal, and environmental social justice will be considered through the application of social work’s ecological perspective, deep ecology theory, social movement theory, and anti-oppressive and critical social work ideas. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in critical thinking about these issues and to consider whether a global, plant-based agriculture system is unnecessarily drastic, or if it may be a practical and thoughtful reality whose time has come