No Fag Son of Mine - Salt Lake City

The cynical among you might wonder the motives behind Fox News running a sympathetic LGBT article.

I was about to say, not very Christian of them, the parents that is, not Fox News. But being Christian, whatever that might be, is something that we could never accuse this batshit crazy cult of being.

Number of homeless youth on the rise in Salt Lake City
Ben Winslow

New numbers reveal more and more children are homeless and living on the streets of Salt Lake City.

Volunteers of America said 837 homeless youth sought services at their Homeless Youth Resource Center in Salt Lake City last year. From January to May of this year, 903 were provided services. Some children are as young as 12.

"It's actually pretty cold and hard," said Matthew Campbell, who found himself homeless at 18 after fighting with his parents. "There's not that much help."

Campbell, now 21 and with a job and an apartment, said he is watching more and more kids falling into homelessness in Salt Lake City.

"There's a lot of different factors that play into that and a lot of them are legitimate," he said. "Like sexual orientation, drugs and violence."

Zach Bale with Volunteers of America said the economy has also been a big factor with kids getting kicked out of their homes because they don't chip in and pay the rent.

Utah also has one of the highest numbers of homeless gay youth. Volunteers of America said that about 42 percent of the teens they help identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or questioning. That's higher than other places in the United States where the number ranges from 20 to 40 percent.

Those who work with homeless youth say it's partly because of a conservative, deeply religious culture in Utah.

"For some reason, parents think that once you come out of the closet, you're different," said Ginger Phillips with Operation Shine America, which helps LGBT homeless youth. "You get kicked out on the streets. I've heard that story over and over and over again."

Utah has no homeless shelter specifically for youth. Laws have recently changed allowing for accomodations for homeless teens. The Homeless Youth Resource Center closes each night.

Now, the VOA may finally secure funding to build a shelter.

"It's been long in coming," said Bale. "We know it's so incredibly needed."

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently gave VOA an $833,000 grant to build a shelter. They have a month to raise $300,000 to qualify for matching funds. Bale said they have been in talks with a number of community groups (including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) for donations.

"It is highly, highly needed," said Campbell. "I wish there was a lot of that stuff to begin with." Source and video

Not something I would normally bother with, but the two links below were on the same page, and I did quite recently run an article on which state tops the league in porn consumption. Utah Tops The Wanking League


Police: Utah man viewed child porn on Mass. flight

New porn accusation in missing Utah mom case