The all too familiar story of young gay men made homeless after their family members become aware or at the very least are suspicious of their siblings’’ sexual orientation is becoming so numerous it’s like a walk in the park. Though reported to me late it’s still worth mentioning and cataloguing to show emphasis on the well needed interventions to deal with this group who are overlooked by present social support systems that exist due to all kinds of other distractions and politics.
In December 2009 after attending a gay party at an entertainment spot this young man in his early twenties returned home with drag clothing contained in a bag that he had taken to the event but he changed to his regular attire so as to travel safely on the streets. He arrived home at around 8am in the morning to be met by his father who was furious as to his whereabouts and demanded to know if he was at any gay parties as he wanted no batty man in his house or around his son. His parents proceeded to take the bag and inspected it only to have their suspicions of him realised further confirmation was said to have come from a source described as a distant friend who told his parents that they saw him entering a taxi that was destined for the gay club that he was a patron of.
His father became boisterous and inflicted several blows to the face of his son and demanded he dropped the gay thing the young man in his defence said he wasn’t gay so as to diffuse the tensions between them but the bag that was searched and found to have contained women’s clothing was placed at the step of the home as an indication that he should leave. The young man proceeded to collect the bag in a bid to leave the home before matters escalated but was set upon by other family members on the insistence of his father who declared he was gay and threatened him with a weapon not to return to the family home or be seen anywhere in the community.
He managed to escape his attackers and found himself in another parish struggling with a friend who eventually ended to help as he couldn’t continue to assist anymore. The young man now homeless tried bouncing from friend to friend for short stays but those options also soon disappeared and he managed to find his way into Kingston where he enrolled and was a part of the homeless project as ran by the previous Executive Director through Jamaica AIDS Support for Life that is soon to be closed yet again as that closing date has become a moving target for whatever reason. It is for the very reason of the plight of clients like this why this type of intervention is so urgently required and if properly managed to help them rehabilitate and assimilate into general society but one wonders where is the will to do so?
Now concerns are being raised as to what next for them and who will stand up?
It would be good if JFLAG takes over that activity where it really belongs as they programs listed under their belt for support services but with the change in the very makeup of the group and the perceptions of the community towards them it’s like they exist but meaningless.
“Boi, it sticky” one person remarked in a recent discussion where we were rapping our heads as to how to get donations and other amenities for selected members of the group who we felt needed emergency assistance. Contact has been made with gay Jamaicans now residing in Amsterdam and elsewhere to see what donations we can muster as criticising the set up is not the only thing that is recognised that needs to be done. We are going to have to start seriously consider ignoring and bypassing the present systems and status quo by going into direct advocacy ourselves no matter how small, how long and how simple these responses may be towards other GLTBTQ persons who inadvertently fall by the way.
Peace and tolerance
H
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