Unveiled on June 28, Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Fund and National Law Center On Homelessness & Poverty brought their State Index on Youth Homelessness online, an action and awareness tool to promote life-saving policies. The singer/songwriter's new initiatives seek to improve protection of society's most vulnerable by promoting state policies that address not only homeless youth but also LGBT who are often the most at risk.
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"Young people experiencing homelessness face steep barriers in exiting homelessness — and even simply surviving — when laws prevent them from securing a job, renting an apartment, or accessing health care," said National Law Center On Homelessness & Poverty Founder & Executive Director Maria Foscarinis. "States must take action now so that these youth have a chance for a better future. The State Index provides practical tools for states to do that and helps the public hold them accountable."
Multiple GRAMMY winner Lauper said, "It is our dream for this State Index to help each state amp up its work to ensure these young people can reach their full potential." Lauper understands from first-hand memory as an underage runaway how state laws can raise obstacles to teens struggling to escape abuse at home.
Billboard quoted Lauper calling it a "game-changer" and within state-level activism, that makes it a fight-changer — improving the public's ability to pursue concrete policy steps, ultimately with their legislators, to make life better for homeless youth. How does your state rate?
