At-Risk Youth are Vulnerable to Homelessness

Brad Schlaikowski has worked and fought for his community’s survival for over a decade.

“Leave us alone,” said Schlaikowski. “Just leave the kids alone.”

Schlaikowski owns Wisconsin’s first and only LGBTQ+ group home for at-risk youth. Just over a decade ago, he worked in a corporate office, but after fostering and adopting his daughter, one phone call changed the course of his life.

His purpose found him on a silent night when he received a startling phone call.

 “A lot of the girls who we fostered their stories were the same,” said Schlaikowski. “The first one was homeless for a long time and had a child. That her family wouldn’t let her see because she presented more masculine.”

“I thought we were done fostering, but they called us after six hours of driving around, and I said. Bring her to us, we’ll give her a meal, we’ll figure it out, and she ended up staying with us for over six months. That’s where it started.”

About 20% of people who age out of foster care experience homelessness within four years, and few have access to long-term resources or aid, according to the National Network for Youth.

LGBTQ+ youth face a 120% higher risk of experiencing homelessness than their straight and cisgender counterparts, according to Alternative Family Services.

Resources for those who age out of foster care in Wisconsin are limited, and further limited for LGBTQ youth. Some find safe, loving homes. Others make their own way through life, but many end up alone and homeless with little to no aid or support.

As the states struggle to keep up with growing numbers of people in poverty, ordinary people like Schlaikowski, Matthew Desmond and Gregory Hicks are stepping up to help a struggling population.

Matthew Desmond, the author of Poverty and Evicted by America, spent over two years in Milwaukee exploring the homeless and eviction problem.

At an author’s talk Wednesday at the UW-Milwaukee campus, he spoke about caring for vulnerable communities: “There are so many populations that are hurting, and we have to figure out a way to harness that energy and create a new movement.”

People like Schlaikowski and Gregory Hicks are already out in their neighborhoods doing the work.

Gregory Hicks a Milwaukee native who attended the authors talk had this to say. “I plan to open a community center,” said Hicks.

“We’re going to help people transitioning out of prison and help those at risk of incarceration stay out of the prison system.”

Those living in poverty are not just statistics. The work of Schlaikowski, Desmond and Hicks is a reminder that real change happens when people decide to care. The question isn’t whether more can be done, but who will step up.