New Memoir Highlights LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness and a Resilient Community Response

Carl Siciliano’s new book, Making Room: Three Decades of Fighting for Beds, Belonging, and a Safe Place for LGBTQ Youth, sheds light both on the disturbing reality of homelessness among vulnerable LGBTQ+ youth, as well as on the resiliency, dedication, and vibrancy of the LGBTQ+ community.

Making Room details Siciliano’s work during the 1980s and 1990s at SafeSapce, where youth could find refuge and safety after being rejected by their families and communities for their LGBTQ+ identities. As Maxwell Kuzma–in his review of Making Space for the National Catholic Reporter–describes:

“[Siciliano] ‘had been deeply formed in hospitality by spending time with Dorothy Day’s Catholic Workers. Carl felt a deep conviction that being gay was a spiritual gift that should not be hidden under a bushel — and he put this queer theology into practice by focusing his professional efforts on helping the most vulnerable LGBTQ population: the young.'”

The book does not shy away from describing the reality that so many of these young people faced—a reality that is still present for many young queer people today. Siciliano tells the stories of children kicked out of their homes after coming out to their parents, facing physical and emotional violence, exploitation, drug addiction, and despair as they attempted to survive. Kuzma adds, “Making Room illustrates a powerful juxtaposition of Times Square before and after a supposed revitalization — an endeavor that disproportionately affected (and evicted) the LGBTQ community.”

These ongoing threats to LGBTQ+ youth are a shameful reminder of what occurs when we choose to ignore the vulnerable in our midst. Kuzma remarks, “We often choose not to look our shame in the face. We turn away, mimicking the families who have turned away from these young people.”

However, there is also great potential for communities to turn towards those in need, not away from them. Making Room makes that clear, showing the power of empathetic encounter. The book details both the work done by Siciliano, whom Kuzma calls “an inspiration,” as well as the power of community members choosing to step up. The reviewer states:

“The hero of this story is the community, and we become heroes when we take a stand, extend a hand or speak up on behalf of someone. The existence of queer people (and others on the margins) will always be a disruption to the status quo, even when we celebrate them.”

Despite the many challenges that Siciliano faced in his work–a lack of funds, attempts to gentrify and take over the facilities, loss and hopelessness–Siciliano demonstrates a deep sense of conviction and determination. He also makes sure to highlight the gifts and innate goodness of those he worked with.

“There are beautiful passages in the book,” Kuzma says, “talent shows where LGBTQ youth express the full spectrum of their vibrant personalities on a homemade runway with a favorite wig and eyebrow lines sharp enough to cut a man; resiliency that should not have been necessary; a will to survive that should never have been so fraught.”

Kuzma concludes:

“[Siciliano] carries on with the determination to prevent as many deaths as he can, taking comfort in being part of the communion of saints, knowing that it requires everyone doing their part with dignity, unafraid of what fires one might walk through. In the end, that is the message I took away most strongly from the book. It takes the entire communion of saints, both those among us and those who have left this earth. This is not a finite problem with a finite solution, but we do not have a finite God. When it comes to prayerfully upholding, standing alongside and financially supporting vulnerable and marginalized communities, we join forces with the Holy Spirit when we dare to act outside our comfort zones and do what is ours to do, for the benefit of all souls.”

—Phoebe Carstens (they/them), New Ways Ministry, August 23, 2024