[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 99 (Monday, June 12, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E801]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING LGBTQ LEADERS IN THE TWIN CITIES

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KEITH ELLISON

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 12, 2017

  Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the transgender, 
queer, lesbian, bisexual, and gay members of my community as we begin 
celebrating Pride. Every year, Twin Cities Pride recognizes individuals 
and organizations who have devoted their lives to equality. This year, 
the Grand Marshal is Jana Shortal, and the Community Champions of Pride 
are Clare Housing and the Avenues for Homeless Youth GLBT Host Homes 
Program.
   Jana Shortal is a journalist, public figure, and co-anchor of KARE 
11's Breaking the News, one of the Twin Cities' most popular evening 
news programs. Jana has garnered a lot of attention across our city--
accolades for her coverage of a mom dying of cancer, criticism in the 
Star Tribune for wearing skinny jeans, and national awards for telling 
stories about race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity. 
Throughout her career, Jana has been guided by an overarching goal: 
telling the story. Like she's said herself, ``The average person's 
completely-not-average story motivates me.'' Often times we get lost in 
statistics or politics and forget to talk about how it's actually 
impacting people's lives. Jana's drive to humanize the news is more 
important now than ever--we can't let elected officials control the 
narrative just because they dislike the facts. I thank Jana for her 
service to our community, for her realness on screen, and for her 
devotion to telling the story.
   Clare Housing and Avenues for Homeless Youth provide something that 
can mean the difference between life and death for LGBTQ folks: a place 
to live. For 30 years, Clare Housing has provided housing for hundreds 
of people with HIV or AIDS. They manage multiple apartment buildings 
for people who are independent, as well as nearly a dozen family homes 
where people can eat regular meals and have a caseworker assist them 
with doctor's visits and medicine. We have made tremendous progress on 
HIV treatment, and it is unacceptable that a lack of access to housing 
or healthcare means it can still be a death sentence. Thanks to Clare 
Housing's leadership, HIV positive individuals can get the housing 
stability they need to keep their bodies healthy.
   Avenues for Homeless Youth's GLBT Host Home Program is a national 
model for community and volunteer-driven efforts to end LGBTQ youth 
homelessness. Nearly 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, 
and many of them were pushed out of their homes due to their gender or 
sexuality. This program provides not only a roof over their head, but 
an environment where their identities are validated and supported. Over 
their 15 year history, the GLBT Host Home Program has helped hundreds 
of kids grow into happy and healthy adults. No one should be forced 
into a life of economic struggles simply because their parents are 
closed minded. The Host Home Program is a tremendous example of what 
``It takes a village'' looks like in practice.
   If the last five months have taught us anything, it's that we still 
have so much work to do. We can't sit back and watch our federal 
government walk back protections for trans kids, or school districts 
lead the charge to belittle and exclude them. We can't accept the talk 
that we have to wait because there are more important or less divisive 
issues. LGBTQ equality is deeply connected to economic inequality, 
racism, sexism, and every other -ism we're fighting against. We must 
fight for both social and economic equality, because if we don't fight 
for both, we won't get either. My deepest thanks to these leaders in 
our community who are showing how we advance equity on all fronts.

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