Sarah Hoisington, Stanwood junior and Break the Silence (BTS) president, came out to her parents about a year and a half ago and told them she was gay.

“It was a shouting match between me and my mom because we had other issues we were dealing with too, and the whole ‘are-you-gay’ thing came up,” Hoisington said. “She said she was fine with it, but I could tell that she had some problems because she made it a big deal.”

Later that night, Hoisington told her father, and he told her that it would be okay and said that he would love her for who she was. There are still some tensions in the family, but overall she is accepted, Hoisington said.

But not all gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer (GLBTQ) people are so lucky.

There are some youth who come out to their parents and get kicked out of the house as a result.

The Ruth Ellis Center of Highland Park is one of four national shelters that take in GLBTQ and other homeless youth. They provide resources such as housing, clothing, counseling, food, education and other items to youth at the center and also provide outreach to the greater Detroit area.

“A lot of traditional youth services are ill-equipped for dealing with GLBTQ kids or don’t want to deal with those problems,” said Jack Zanhecke, director of development and public relations for the center. “The center provides a safe space for these youth to be who they are, whether drop in during the afternoon or go through the 18-month transitional program.”

About 25 percent of GLBTQ youth are rejected by their families after coming out, and GLTBQ teens make up about 40 percent of the homeless youth, according to the Ali Forney Center.

According to Zanhecke, the center gets some of its funding from the federal government, but they rely heavily on larger groups and individuals whodonate money and items.

To help out the Ruth Ellis Center, BTS and Goodrich Club are both sponsoring events to help raise money, items and awareness for GLBTQ people.

“We really appreciate the support that we get from student organizations,” Zanhecke said. “It really does make a difference.”

According to Vicky Seiter, Grosse Pointe Farms senior and Goodrich Club member, these events help raise awareness about the GLBTQ communities and the large number of youth that are kicked out of their house after coming out to their parents.

“People in the gay community are abused everyday,” Hoisington said. “There are parents who abuse the children when they come out, and they get kicked out [of their houses]. It’s a real thing that happens everyday; it’s just that people don’t realize it.”

Hoisington said she has a friend whose parents kicked him/her out of the after coming out, which better helps her understand the mission of the center.

“They (the center) try to get these kids to the point where they can support themselves,” Hoisington said. “They (the kids) don’t have anything at all, and everything they (the center) get, they get by donations.”

Last week, BTS collected items in the Kellogg Center that would go directly to the center.