/r/lgbtHavens

Photograph via snooOG

Safe places for LGBT youth

A place to post offers of help for young adults who are kicked out of their homes (or disowned) for "coming out." If you can offer a couch, a meal, or someone to talk to, this is the place.

some helpful links:

  • PFLAG - Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
  • r/AtheistHavens - Athiest Havens. if you need a place in an area not shown here, check athiest havens as well.
  • The Trevor Project - A national 24-hour, toll free confidential hotline providing lifesaving and life-affirming services to LGBTQ+ youth.
  • glbtNearMe.org

NEW! LGBT Havens Map

  • view the map
  • map login: lgbtHavens
  • map password: aplacetostay
  • helpful hint for the map: if you are adding your place, you may want to only use your city and state/province. if someone wants to contact you, they can PM you for an address.

Other subreddits of interest:

/r/lgbtHavens

1,866 Subscribers

7

I just want to know

So for two years now I have been thinking about my sexuality. And as I grow older I think I slowly start to figure who I am and who I want to love. I think I'm in love with a girl. I never told my parents because I'm afraid. Not because they would be disappointed or sad or angry that I have these feelings. I am afraid that even if they accept me they would treat/look at me differently. And only two of my closest friends know about it. And there are girls in my class/school who are attracted to girls it just that they are JUST attracted to them. They want to hookup and that's it. They don't want a relationship or anything serious. But I'm not like that. I could picture myself being in a serious relationship with a girl or even if I'm gonna be older I could see myself marrying a woman. And I don't know if there are other people who think like me. There must be other people like me. I just feel so alone. I feel like a freak for thinking like that. Because I never met with another person who thinks like me. I just feel alone. And no one can understand it, not even my friends because they don't feel/think like me. I just want to know that there are people like me.

1 Comment
2021/11/14
21:45 UTC

6

i feel lost, can anyone help?

i’m not sure if this is the correct place to post this so please let me know.

i’ve had trouble with my gender identity since i hit highschool. that was 5 years ago. i’ve thought i was nonbinary, ftm, she/they. i settled on any pronoun. but theres always been this one thing that’s always bothered me, about me. i dont want my bottom half, i want a males bottom half. but i dont want to be a man. i have no idea what to call myself because of this, and its lead to many night of restless thinking. please, if anyone knows a label for this, help me out?

Edit: yea as everyone who's seen this had probably called me oblivious for, im ftm transgender. i was in HEAVY denial as my parents aren't the most accepting about things like this. thanks everyone

1 Comment
2021/11/03
05:08 UTC

4

Help out a new trangender streamer? Shh, it's the wifey. Love you guys!

2 Comments
2021/10/13
03:20 UTC

8

Advice? I don’t know

Background- I’m 16 and ftm, came out to my family a year ago but have been out to my friends for 4+ years

I’m typing all of this post-breakdown after finding out my voice is ~236hz, so please bear with me if this seems a little all over the place.

I dont know what to do anymore. I feel like I’m never going to be a real boy, like I’m never going to be seen as a man by people without having to tell them. I came out a little over a year ago, yet my family still refuses to use my name or pronouns. Even my own therapist doesn’t see me as a man even when I’m out to her- during my last session with her she told me that I’m a “smart girl”. I feel like no matter how hard I try, no one is ever going to see me for who I really am. Hormones and surgery are so far away. I’m not allowed to even try to get them until I’m 18, but who knows when I’d actually be able to get them because I am pretty sure my family would never help with bills in the slightest. My boyfriend is starting T quite literally tomorrow morning, and I’m so incredibly happy for him, at the same time I’m so incredibly jealous. It’s the type of jealous that makes you feel like you want to puke, the type that feels like it’s burning a hole straight through your insides. I feel like a horrible boyfriend for even feeling this way, while at the same time I feel like I’m tricking him into thinking I’m a boy when I act and look like a stereotypical girl. I feel so horrible, because he deserves to be with a real man, not some dysphoria-riddled piece of shit who can’t even talk anymore without feeling sick because I sound so much like a girl. Everything combined is eating a hole through me, that I’m not sure I’m ever going to be able to fix someday. I feel like all my friends are lying to me when they say I pass, because I know for a fact I don’t no matter how hard I try. My hips are too wide, my chest is too big that even a binder doesn’t help much, my voice is too high, my hands are too small. I’m at the point where I’m jumping through any hoop possible to at least try and get hormones now without parental consent. Hell, I’m even in contact with a lawyer to figure out what my options are. I’m getting desperate at this point, my dysphoria is starting to interfere with my ability to function in day-to-day life and I need a way out of it.

Any advice would be appreciated Thank you,

Tyler

3 Comments
2021/06/07
08:42 UTC

6

can u guys pls share and donate. Jamal needs financial aid to leave egypt. keep in mind 1 usd = 20 Egyptian pounds so any amount helps! please consider donating and sharing

4 Comments
2021/05/24
15:57 UTC

14

my friend who is a trans man needs help asap escaping his physically abusive and transphobic mom. the situation is getting more urgent.

here is his post https://twitter.com/FNAFPOSTING/status/1395837425184804874 i shared it last week but his situation is only getting worse so i had to share it again. Im really worried for him

2 Comments
2021/05/21
20:35 UTC

38

Colorful World of LGBT Picture

2 Comments
2021/04/20
07:23 UTC

6

Helpful sub

r/questioningteens is a small new sub, that i think could be helpful to lgbt youth!💗
I also think it could benefit from more experienced mods.

1 Comment
2021/04/09
20:16 UTC

15

Advice for parent?

This is a throwaway account, to protect my kid's privacy.

Not sure if this is the right forum to ask this, but I just wanted some feedback from the LGBTQ youth. I'm a parent of a younger teenager who was clearly going through some things that they had not immediately shared with me. We are very, very close, so it was very unusual in my mind that my kid was not talking about what was bothering them. First, they couldn't/wouldn't explain what was going on. Then they said an explanation that didn't quite make sense, but I let it go at first. Then finally, after bursting into tears for no reason at all, they finally shared with me that they are bi-sexual.

I'm not asking how to immediately handle this. I'm pretty certain that I did everything right at that moment. I've been an "ally" long before that term ever existed as I had several close friends growing up who are gay and lesbian. In short, I gave my child a big hug, I told them that I would always love them and support them and this changes nothing about our relationship. Notably, my kid hasn't told anyone else, other than my spouse, to my knowledge. We also live in a pretty religious community, which is the only aspect of their experience that concerns me. My spouse also thinks this is more of a phase than a real thing, which also concerns me as well, but not tremendously so since my spouse is also friendly.

I guess my question is, from the youth point of view, what now? Do we just go about with business as usual? Should I periodically ask my kid about how they are doing with this issue? Anything else to know or do?

7 Comments
2021/04/07
14:34 UTC

16

Austin Runaway

are there any trustworthy safe places in Austin or near Austin for a trans runaway to seek shelter? They cannot go back to that abusive home.

2 Comments
2021/03/08
22:37 UTC

28

Disowned by Religious Mom, Please Help

https://gofund.me/4da78493

Yesterday morning, my very christian mom found out that I am bisexual, I have had sex with my boyfriend, and I have smoked weed. She immediately made me call my boyfriend and break up with him, and she told me if I ever contacted him again she’d disown me (and then decided to disown me anyways). I just turned 18 and have no one to turn to. I don’t have a job because my mom never allowed me to get one (“school is your job”), so I can’t afford necessities for school or even to take care of myself (food, a stable place to stay, transportation). I’m trying to figure this all out— I’ve applied for some jobs today and have been trying to calculate how much money I need to afford a laptop and phone for school since she will be shutting mine off and taking them back, or filing a fraudulent police report saying I stole them. She pays for my car, so I will also be stranded at my college campus which is approximately 2 hours from anyone that I DO know who might be able to let me stay on their couch. My mom is really emotionally and financially abusive, so this is not a huge surprise to me, but I’m really panicking trying to figure this all out. Anything at all helps, thank you so much for the support.

9 Comments
2021/03/01
23:55 UTC

16

[16M] is there anyone in south australia?

im not doing well mentally. i currently live in regional south australia and i dont feel safe or happy. most of the people at my school are bigots and the same probably goes for the rest of my town too. im bi and autistic so i really wont be accepted if people find out about me. i genuinely dont feel safe where i am. there are probably like three other lgbt people near me and thats all. ive tried to talk to my parents (who are accepting of me) multiple times but they refuse to listen. its always "well every place will have dickheads", or "but you have friends who accept you and care for you, why are you sad", blah blah blah. they refuse to understand. and like five minutes ago i tried to talk to them again but they straight up yelled at me, which is a first because my parents are not the type to yell unless we really fucked up. and so im considering running away. is there anyone here? that can help? please'?

2 Comments
2021/01/28
11:17 UTC

15

Did my mom emotionally abuse me?

I was semi accidentally outed a few years ago when a guy wrote 'I hope you find the girl of your dreams' into my yearbook. my mom read it and started becoming very aggressive and shouting at me. I was panicking a lot. she basically told me I wasn't allowed to be a lesbian and I agreed, saying that I didn't even want it in the first place. She then burned the only shirt I had with the rainbow colours on it and then made me unfollow/unlike everyone on social media who either was lgbt or was openly supporting the lgbt community. I was very scared for a while and she asked my psychiatrist if there was a way to 'fix me'. During that time I was on summer break and when going grocery shopping found pride vodka in the pride aisle. I couldn't even look at it before panicking. Since then (its been 3-ish years) I've basically pretended to be straight and my mom has accepted that. I think she thinks that it was a phase or that I was confused. TL,DR: my mom is homophobic and it lowkey really traumatised me but idk if it was emotional abuse.

8 Comments
2021/01/04
19:04 UTC

7

Coming Out Survey :)

I am a researcher at Western Carolina University studying coming out experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals, and how it relates to their wellbeing, thoughts, and attitudes. I am interested in both positive and negative experiences. If you would like to answer questions about your own coming out, please follow the link below for more information and the survey questions. Some experiences may be difficult to discuss. The survey takes about 45 minutes. If you have any questions about this study, please contact Dr. David Solomon at dsolomon@wcu.edu

https://wcu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8BMOP3Togi8sB49

2 Comments
2020/12/28
22:01 UTC

16

Burnsville, MN / Twin Cities - Can provide a bed, ride, food, and any other reasonable support

I can provide a (temporary) bed, food, ride, talk, and any other reasonable support. PM me about your situation and I'll let you know if/how I can help.

I think every person deserves respect and love, no matter their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, or anything else. If your family or community feels differently, I'd love to help.

I'm in Burnsville, MN, but I'm able to help you anywhere in the twin cities metro area (Minneapolis, St. Paul, etc.) and maybe a little further out.

To catch some searches, here are some nearby areas: Eagan, Apple Valley, Saint Paul, Mendota Heights, Inver Grove Heights, Bloomington, Minnetonka, Shakopee, Plymouth, Edina, St. Louis Park, Saint Louis Park, Lakeville, Minnesota

0 Comments
2020/09/23
11:28 UTC

11

Queer Trans Femme In Need Of Emergency Assistance

Hello everyone. I want to begin by thanking you for reading this post. I would not be asking for funds unless it was absolutely necessary and I have never done this before, but I am asking for community support. I have been put into an emergency situation where I am left houseless, without resources and very scared/insecure of the future. So I am asking you all to please donate, share with friends and please spread widely.

About the situation: I want to begin by stating that my journey as a Trans-Femme has been the most beautiful experience of my life, to be able to show up for myself and others as the truest version of me has been magical. However it has placed me in a severely vulnerable situation where my family is no longer supporting me, and I have limited communication with my family. So in my hour of need I reached out to community food asking for support and I was taken in by several non-poc folx which lead to me experiencing extreme violence, lies and manipulation in various forms that brought me to the brink of a total mental breakdown. I don’t want to share too much as these folx are people in the community that have power that they have used to violate me (eg telling folx not to support my access to HRT and to disenroll me in support groups and going as far as messaging grantors to say I am a bad person) the reasoning for this is simply my questioning of them and their motives for the way they show up in community. They would lie to me constantly, saying that we were a family which gave them license to abuse me emotionally, physically and verbally. Identity politics was always a threat and I was often gaslit into believe I was “angry” or “violent” for simply wanting to understand the house dynamics. I was constantly made to feel inferior and would often be forced to provide non-consensual labor at the expensive of my own self. I was promised resources, access to hormones, support to transition, and safety with housing but instead I was used. They would advocate for me to others only to keep resources from until “I was in a better state”.

I am currently houseless I have no place to go, I am without funds to even get around the city which is extremely expensive. I have tried to get support but because of the structural violence Black Trans women face I have been unable to get support I am met with apathy and no remorse for my situation during a pandemic. I am afraid and living day to day which has been extremely painful and detrimental to my wellbeing. I do not currently has access to funds, I don’t have resources to live my day to day, we are in a pandemic which is compounding my whole situation and I am living in constant fear of retribution from these folx so I have had to go “underground” in a sense (changing my habits and moving with more intention).

So I am asking you all please if you can spare and resources to support me please please please support my cause. I need funds to live, to thrive and to be seen in this world as my truest most magical self and I need your help realizing my fullest potential.

You can support me directly here:

GoFundMe: gofundme.com/jstynne

Venmo: @jadejax10

Cashapp: $jstynne

0 Comments
2020/08/20
19:46 UTC

20

I’m struggling.

Throwaway for anonymity sake.

My mum recently died. She was going to be the first person I was going to come out to (I’m gay). It’s thrown a lot of my plans for coming out out of order and the anxiety I got from coming out has come back.

People at my school know I’m gay, my friend told the most popular guy in my tutor (I’m in England) that I was gay because he thought I would find it funny. Before that there where rumours that I was gay, I’m not even that popular. I’m not hated or a loner by any means but I’m not exactly the popular kid.

For a while before I admitted to myself that I was gay, I desperately didn’t want to believe that I was. I would say that I was bi or asexual because I didn’t want to admit to anyone and especially myself that I liked boys. Gay has always meant bad where I’m from, even at primary school gay was an insult. However, I did go to a Church Of England school so that probably had something to do with it. Point is, I knew that being gay was bad and weird and I desperately wanted to avoid the fact that I was attracted to men.

For a while I was harassed online because I responded to a homophobic post and people took that as an opportunity to mock me. Later, I responded to a transphobic post which lead to people photoshopping my profile picture into transphobic memes, a ‘friend’ that I had trusted enough to follow my private vent account stabbed me in the back and leaked shit to them. A few people including my own brother made accounts impersonating me telling my followers and friends to kill themselves.

All these experiences have taught me that I should not be gay and if I’m open about it, I will be attacked. I don’t know what to do, it feels like everything is crumbling. I feel sick thinking about it and as I write this. I know these thoughts aren’t normal, but as of now neither is being gay to most people in my country and around the world.

I want help, man. I used to have a support network but it slowly drifted away. I don’t know if my experiences are relatable in the slightest, but this is something that I have wanted to get off my chest for a while.

Thank you.

3 Comments
2020/07/22
00:41 UTC

5

FREE VIRTUAL WELLNESS EVENT, FOR AND BY THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY!

Hey y'all,

Free virtual wellness event happening on Thursday, July 23 at 5:30 pm, EDT. Presented by The OUT Foundation.

ChillOUT: Relief for Challenging Times.

Topics will include an overview of The OUT Foundation's OUTHealth program, a Guided Meditation, Mindset Talk, Mental Health + Wellness Navigation, oh, and there will have breakout groups.⁠ So invite a friend and sign up! ⁠

Link to register: https://www.facebook.com/events/311534946632456/

https://preview.redd.it/xwilyb5mg0c51.png?width=2160&format=png&auto=webp&s=8bbcd558fd20e35cdb201cdfb3e0d81e3b335846

0 Comments
2020/07/20
13:04 UTC

35

I got a week to move out due to transphobic parents.

Hello I am a 18 year old transgender girl from Florida, Tampa region to be precise, who due to issues with a very conservative and religious family only have a week before I am officially on my own. I don't know what exactly to do, I have a beat up old car that at least drives me 200 miles before dying and requiring me to quickly pull into a parking lot where I could wait a hour before it's "safe" to drive. I don't know what to do and what to pack and bring with me as I have 18 years of my life I have to decide to bring or leave behind. I just need help as much as possible please.

UPDATE: Talked to my mom and for the sake of me not fucking dying I have about a month or so with settling in my current job before talking about where I'm going and such. I still need all the help I can get and REALLY appreciate those who have been so kind as to reach out. I'm still taking as much help as I can muster from you kind souls. Feel free to keep commenting or dming me.

3 Comments
2020/06/24
15:14 UTC

6

How to overcome negative feelings

I realized that i wasn't straight when i was 12, now i'm 16, I feel bad about myself everyday,thinking about my hopeless future, low self esteem, fear of rejection.. are this problems related to my lgbt issues?

Also i feel inferior to other male friends until now (i'm male) When i was in elementary and junior high school I always felt some of my male classmates underestimate me, they perceived me as a weak person. My mother used to compare me with another kid, "You have to be like X, he socialize with everyone, he play sports bla bla bla" But i don't know if my inferior feeling towards my friends related to this cases.

Currently, Most of my negative feelings caused by thinking of my lqbtq issue. I still can't accept myself, also I live in a pretty bad country for lgbt, but I know someday i will accept myself and my surroundings will do so.

Thanks for reading my text guys, sorry for the bad english, and i still questioning my sexuality.

2 Comments
2020/06/11
01:39 UTC

8

LGBTQ+ Mental Health Survey Study Participant Recruitment (Gift cards available)!

Hello! As we understand that this is a precarious time, we wanted to express that we hope you are doing well and that we care for your well-being. We are researchers at University of California, Irvine who are interested in enhancing mental health among LGBTQ+ individuals. Please note that everyone on our research team identifies within the LGBTQ+ community as we strive to understand the complexities of the world. If you identify as an LGBTQ+ person, please consider clicking the following link for a detailed study information sheet and the study survey (takes about 20-30 minutes). Upon finishing reading the study information, you will be able to participate in the study survey. Transgender and gender non-conforming individuals are especially welcome to participate! You will be entered into a raffle winning one of our 60 Amazon gift cards for your participation. Please reach out if you have any questions.

Study information and survey link:

https://uci.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_87fep4ZN7xGghut

With gratitude and in solidarity,

UCI LGBTQ+ Mental Health Research Team

ucilgbtqmentalhealth@gmail.com

Study Website: https://sites.google.com/uci.edu/ucilgbtqmentalhealth/

https://preview.redd.it/8vw2qkqb2mx41.png?width=250&format=png&auto=webp&s=55fbcfeafc62a20b3e3f0a037cd6719ba5d12dd0

1 Comment
2020/05/08
21:41 UTC

7

help a lesbian out with groceries and necessities! Please help!

They dont have any source of income and theyve been out of a job for almost 2 months. Things are especially hard because of everything going on right now. Please donate + share it will really really help! Heres their twitter post explaining the situation https://twitter.com/venusiankillers/status/1247275245590818816

8 Comments
2020/04/10
20:01 UTC

8

getting progressively upset

Hello! My name is Isaac and about 2-ish years ago I realized I wasn't cis (quite a long time after realizing I was gay) and feel most comfortable referring to myself as non-binary and use he/they pronouns.

At first, I wasn't very bothered by being called by my birth name (I named myself Isaac) and my body was never really an issue to me outside of general insecurity that wasn't related to my gender at all, I was happy with that, figured I was pretty lucky to be unbothered by it.

But over these 2 years, I've been getting more and more uncomfortable being called by my birth name and being referred to as she by the people around me - Minding the fact that I haven't come out to them because it's still a scary thought to bring up my gender to irls despite them knowing I'm not straight, it's not like they do it on purpose although I did bring it up before last year and people thought I was joking so that was definitely discouraging,,,

I was just wondering if any others have felt fine at first but over time things like this started bothering them? Just hearing my birth name makes me feel anxious and I'm highly aware of when people refer to me as a woman and I can barely look at myself in the mirror on some days.

Hhh am I weird for wanting to be referred to as he/they, being uncomfortable with my chest and wearing a binder while being very comfortable when wearing skirts and makeup at the same time? I wouldn't think it's weird if someone else did that but for some reason when it's me I feel like no one would really get it or accept me?

I don't know... I'm not really close with other non-binary people so I never got to actually talk about it. I figured if I posted this on a subreddit for our community I would feel a little less alone?

Thank you for your time :)

3 Comments
2020/03/17
03:23 UTC

6

Confusion

0 Comments
2020/03/14
20:50 UTC

5

Questionnaire

Hello everyone :) For my Personal Interest Project for school, I am research the LGBTQIA+ community and mental health. If anyone would like to help out and take my questionnaire, it would be greatly appreciated It will only take 2-3 minutes :) Thank you!!!

Questionnaire

3 Comments
2020/03/09
00:44 UTC

6

I need some advice, or help if possible.

I am born a male in Egypt, i been questioning my gender for years since i was young but i have been in the closet, i am 20 years old and i don't know how to solve my issue and explore myself, and i don't know who to reach out to, and even if i find that i am trans, i can't do anything because i have no money for transition and i can't come out anyway and i don't have any money to move out of Egypt.

3 Comments
2020/03/07
10:39 UTC

3

LGBTQ+ and Wellbeing Questionnaire

I am a researcher at Western Carolina University studying the impact of coming out experiences in the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals, and how it relates to their wellbeing, thoughts, and attitudes. I am interested in both positive and negative experiences. If you would like to answer questions about your own coming out, please follow the link below for more information and the survey questions. Some experiences may be difficult to discuss. The survey takes about 45 minutes. If you have any questions about this study, please contract Dr. David Solomon at dsolomon@wcu.edu

https://wcu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6R21JLuBK8FJdel

0 Comments
2020/02/19
14:41 UTC

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