25% Of Gay And Lesbian Students In Massachusetts Are Homeless – Harvard
25% of gay and lesbian students, and an additional 15% of bisexual students, in Massachusetts are homeless, states a new Children’s Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School study released Thursday, which finds that by comparison, only three percent of exclusively heterosexual students are homeless. The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, examined more than 6,300 Massachusetts public high school students, and found that in addition to higher the rates of homelessness among gay, lesbian, and bisexual students, those sexual minority students were more likely to be without parents or guardians.
“Prior studies in homeless street youth have found that sexual minorities occur in much higher numbers than we’d expect based on their numbers in the community in general,” says Heather Corliss, Ph.D., MPH, of the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Children’s Hospital Boston, the study’s lead author. “This study looked at the magnitude of the difference for the first time.”
It is important to note a few factors.
The study examined students only in Massachusetts public high schools and did not include students in private schools. Additionally, sadly, many homeless youth of all orientations do not attend school. As we know that LGBT youth are homeless at a much higher rate than their heterosexual peers, it’s a fair assumption to suggest that the actual overall numbers are even higher than this study finds.
Additionally, as Massachusetts is unique in being the first state to offer same-sex marriage, one might make the case that attitudes toward its LGBT youth are far more accepting than in other states around the country, so it’s important to not apply this data to the rest of the country.
“Since it is a school-based study, findings presumably underestimate the percent of students who are homeless if homeless students are less likely to show up to school on average each day than non-homeless students, which is entirely probable,” the study’s lead researcher, Dr. Corliss, an Instructor of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Boston/Harvard Medical School, told The New Civil Rights Movement, adding, “it is not possible to generalize findings from this study to the entire US, and we acknowledge this in our report.”
“One could imagine that the homeless youth in street- and shelter-based studies are even more vulnerable than homeless youth identified through school-based studies. Nonetheless, the homeless students in our study are clearly more vulnerable than their non-homeless counterparts.”
“Only future studies with additional samples across the nation can tell us how Massachusetts compares to other parts of the country,” Corliss, an author of dozens of studies, said. “We can assume that it is better for LGBT youth in Massachusetts because attitudes about homosexuality are more favorable here than other parts of the country and there are more efforts to assist LGBT youth. But without data, we don’t know for sure.”
Corliss and the research team, “combined data from the 2005 and 2007 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey, a representative sample of public school students in grades 9 though 12,” according to the study’s abstract. “Youth homelessness is linked with numerous threats such as violence, substance use, and mental health problems. Although discrimination and victimization related to minority sexual orientation status are believed to be important causal factors, research is needed to improve our understanding of the risks and protective factors for homelessness and to determine effective strategies to prevent homelessness in this population.”
Bottom line: LGBT students and teens overall are homeless at exponentially higher rates than their heterosexual counterparts. More studies must be done, but more resources must be applied to help our lost youth, and to stop this tragic epidemic.
Support In Massachusetts:
A list of national resources for teens and youth can be found on the websites of the Center for Young Women’s Health and the Center for Young Men’s Health.
Support and assistance are available from the youth-led Boston Alliance of Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgendered Youth and through drop-in-centers run by the Boston-based Justice Resource Institute (Boston GLASS) and the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts (Youth on Fire).
Health services for homeless youth are available at the Sidney Borum Jr. Health Center.
Support Nationally:
A list of national resources for teens and youth can be found on the websites of the Center for Young Women’s Health and the Center for Young Men’s Health.
Special services for homeless teens are available through the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act.
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A large panel fell seemingly dozens of feet from above onto the stage during a rehearsal for a performance at an event for President Donald Trump’s Freedom 250, according to video posted by attorney Aaron Parnas.
“The stage is falling apart at the rehearsal for Freedom 250’s July 4th celebration,” Parnas wrote.
After the panel fell, someone can be heard on the video saying, “I was waiting for something like that to happen.”
Critics blasted the administration while others issued warnings.
“This is incredibly dangerous stuff,” wrote journalist Ryan Grim. “Trump cutting safety corners with stage building is the kind of thing somebody can genuinely be prosecuted for if someone dies, which is not uncommon if you slap it together like this. This equipment is deadly when falling from those heights.”
“Literally a miracle no one was hurt here,” noted journalist Philip Lewis.
“In all seriousness, that actually looks really dangerous for the performers. It’s scary how unsafe this all seems,” observed journalist Pablo Manríquez.
“The sheer incompetence of this administration is really rather astonishing. Everything these people touch is shoddily done. This era is replete with evidence that experience and professionalism actually matter,” wrote author Jennifer Erin Valent.
“If there was ever a metaphor for how historians will look back at Trump’s presidency at this moment in time, it’s this,” wrote health care consultant and National Organization for Women vice president Melanie D’Arrigo.
“The Freedom 250 rehearsal stage falling apart is the perfect analogy for the Trump administration,” The Lincoln Project commented.
“Glad everyone’s ok — it’s also hard to imagine a better metaphor for the current state of [America] than this,” wrote the progressive media outlet The Tennessee Holler.
“Trump’s state fair is *literally* falling apart,” remarked liberal political commentator Harry Sisson.
One commenter added, “Those performers are incredibly lucky. That falling piece of debris looked heavy, sharp and came down at incredible speed.”
Trump’s Freedom 250 July 4th event is also besieged by a massive heat wave enveloping part of the country.
“U.S. Capitol Police have already restricted Thursday night’s rehearsal for ‘A Capitol Fourth Concert’ to essential personnel, posting on X that they came to the decision after consulting with the Capitol’s Office of the Attending Physician,” The New Republic reported.
“For safety reasons, the public will not be able to attend tonight’s rehearsal concert,” the Capitol Police’s post read. “Everyone is sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. The National Weather Service is forecasting an extreme heat watch with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees.”
The stage is falling apart at the rehearsal for Freedom 250’s July 4th celebration. pic.twitter.com/bPbg94hp6X
— Aaron Parnas (@AaronParnas) July 2, 2026
Longtime political scientist Dr. Norman Ornstein on Thursday floated a prediction that one political commentator suggested could throw the November 2026 midterms into chaos.
“Something I predicted multiple times is about to come true,” said Ornstein, an emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and contributing editor for The Atlantic.
Ornstein said that President Donald Trump’s acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche, “is going to cut a deal with Maduro to have him falsely claim that Venezuela tilted the 2020 elections. In return, he and his wife are likely to be in the same prison as Ghislaine Maxwell.”
Maduro is Nicolás Maduro, the former president of Venezuela whom the U.S. Army’s Delta Force captured in January. He and his wife, currently imprisoned in Brooklyn, are expected to stand trial on numerous drug-trafficking charges.
Blanche reportedly is behind the controversial move of former Epstein partner Ghislaine Maxwell to a less-restrictive prison.
Political commentator Tara Setmayer, co-founder of The Seneca Project, appeared to agree with Ornstein.
“I’m hearing this Maduro rumor also,” she wrote. “As soon as he was captured, I thought Trump would try this nonsense.”
“Firing [Pam] Bondi, then [Tulsi] Gabbard opened up this scheme with Blanche & [Bill] Pulte as the henchmen,” she explained. Pulte is the acting Director of National Intelligence, who replaced Gabbard.
“I hope this doesn’t happen but it’s more than plausible and would throw the midterms into utter chaos,” Setmayer warned.
Political strategist and California State Senate candidate Christine Pelosi responded to Ornstein, saying, “Co-sign.”
She explained that she had discussed the scenario with journalist April Ryan back in February.
“My personal theory on this is, number one, Donald Trump can’t believe he lost” in 2020, Pelosi told Ryan. “He would like to take every ballot and recount them himself, but he can’t.”
“But I think they seized Georgia [ballots] because he wants to find a way to pardon Maduro,” Pelosi continued. “He wants to find a way for Maduro to admit election fraud in 2020, so he can justify taking over the financial resources of Venezuela. It’s always the money. Yes, it’s the racism. Yes, it’s the xenophobia. Yes, it’s the pulling up the ladder behind it. But ultimately, with Donald Trump, it is follow the money.”
Also responding to Ornstein was investigative journalist Dave Troy, who wrote: “This is insane but totally plausible. We are living in a fact-free world now.”
Image via Reuters
As temperatures in the Big Apple are set to hit triple digits, Republicans are melting down over New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s request that residents in the five boroughs turn their air conditioners to 78 degrees — advice President Donald Trump’s own Department of Energy offers as well, as do some of their own states.
“New York: it’s hot out there, and the power grid is working overtime to keep us cool,” Mayor Mamdani noted on Wednesday, as a multi-day heat wave pushed temperatures to the mid-90s. Temperatures are expected to hit 100 degrees on Thursday for the first time in over a decade.
“Set your AC to 78 degrees, turn off lights/electronics you’re not using, and unplug what you can,” Mamdani asked. “Our City is doing its part too: maintaining the 78 degrees rule in our buildings, dimming/turning off our lights during peak electricity demand, asking private partners to do the same, and powering down non-essential equipment. A stable grid means the AC stays on, and lives are saved. Let’s ease demand — and get through the heat — together.”
That request did not go over well on the right.
“Welcome to socialism, where the government demands you turn your house into a sauna because they can’t plan for the super unpredictable fact that it tends to get hot in the summer,” retorted U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX).
“This is what socialism looks like, folks,” added Vivek Ramaswamy, the GOP’s nominee for governor of Ohio. “The right answer isn’t restrictions or mandates. It’s drilling, fracking, coal, & nuclear. That’s how we’ll roll in Ohio.”
“In a first-world country, you could turn on the A/C….” wrote U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), only to be met with a community note on the X social media platform, which read: “Ted Cruz’s own state has made the same request on numerous occasions.”
Emmy Award-winning WTTG anchor Jim Lokay also responded to Senator Cruz, writing: “Trump’s own Department of Energy website recommends setting the AC at a range of 75-78 degrees.”
Indeed, on its website, the Department of Energy says: “The Department of Energy (DOE) and ENERGY STAR recommend finding a comfortable indoor temperature during the day and increasing it by 7°F when no one is home. Start with an indoor temperature between 75-78°F during the day.”
Critics slammed some of the Republicans’ responses — especially that of Sen. Cruz.
“You are the absolute LAST person to weigh in, Captain Cancun,” retired intelligence officer Travis Akers wrote.
“Your state’s electrical grid crashes if it gets too hot or cold, so I wouldn’t be throwing stones here,” said Democratic strategist Mike Nellis.
NYC SIZZLES 🥵: FOX Weather Senior Correspondent Robert Ray hits the scorching streets of New York City as an intense heat dome traps millions in life-threatening temperatures. New Yorkers are already feeling the burn: pic.twitter.com/HbMhU6L2P6
— FOX Weather (@foxweather) July 2, 2026
Image via Shutterstock
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