Travis Crown Survived Being Disowned by His Family and Homelessness for Being Gay

Travis Crown’s family kicked him out for being gay—now he’s helping ensure other people who areLGBTQ+ don’t have to go through what he had to when he wound up without a home.

Crown grew up in new Haven, Connecticut. When he was 17 years old, his family disowned him, and as a result, Travis spent months living on the street.

“In my mom’s house, it’s God first and them family,” he said. “In my family, it’s like a man is supposed to be masculine and a woman is supposed to be feminine. Since I was raised in the church, I honestly thought being gay was wrong.”

Growing up, Travis’ family didn’t accept him for who he was. He even has to take part in so-called “conversation therapy.” When his mom discovered he ran a YouTube channel for makeup tutorials, she forced him to leave home.

Travis used his savings to buy a plane ticket to Los Angeles. He rented a room in a youth hostel while looking for a job, but slowly his savings ran out and he had to leave the hostel.   

He eventually got in touch with the Los Angeles LGBT Center, who offer assistance to youth experiencing homelessness. He was able to get a bed, and from there, was able to get a job and save up for a place of his own. Today he works at the same center that helped him.

“It’s bad enough being homeless but if you’re homeless and you’re a youth, and you’re homeless and you’re gay or let’s say if you’re homeless and you’re a person of color or if you’re trans it just keeps putting you more in danger,” he said.

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