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Inside Look: Ruth Ellis Center
According to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force website article, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender youth: An epidemic of homelessness, out of an estimated 1.6 million homeless teens, up to 42 percent identify themselves as part as the LGBT community. "According to one study, 50 percent of gay teens experienced a negative reaction from their parents when they came out and 26 percent were kicked out of their homes”. These statistics are one of the reasons the Ruth Ellis Center exists. The center is located in Highland Park serves as the core for assisting homeless youth for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community in Detroit and southeastern Michigan. This center is one of only four agencies in the nation that specifically focuses on the needs of the LGBT youth. “Due to being in Detroit with hard economic times, there are a lot of kids roaming the streets.” said Ruth Ellis Center Executive Director, Grace McClelland. She added, “And frankly, that puts a lot of pressure on us.”
Although this center is known for helping homeless LGBT teens, this is only one of the problems. Teens also seek the center for guidance after contracting HIV. “There was a situation where a kid told his mom that he had contracted HIV, the mother went and bought paper plates, Styrofoam cups, and covered everything in plastic...it was just horrific,” said McClelland. The Drop-In Center tends to about 40 teens daily. It includes two meals a day, shower and laundry facilities, counseling groups, HIV/AIDS education, even interactive game nights. “If a kid walks in right off the streets, we are ready to deal with them that day,” said McClelland. They have two residential programs called Ruth’s House. The transitional living program, is an 18-month program for youth 16-21 years of age. In this program, youths learn independent living skills for adulthood. The second program, an intensive treatment unit, caters to 12-17 year olds for 12-30 days. “In this program we deal with child development issues, sexual attraction, gender identity...adolescents is a time of questioning.” McClelland, a New Jersey native, has over 20 years of social work experience. McClelland’s ex partner told her about the out-of-state executive director position at the Ruth Ellis Center.
“I worked my whole career to become an executive director and manage a social services organization because I felt like I was good working with people. When I saw this job, I thought this was the perfect way to end my career because I could finally give back to the teenagers that paved the way for me all those years,” she said. According to McClelland, she is fascinated with the overall growth of the center. In addition to the growth of the service, national media attention has sky rocketed as well. “We’ve been featured in the New York Times, CNN, Curve Magazine and we’ve had people donate from Illinois, New York...,” said Ruth Ellis Development Director, Jack Van Hecke.
The center was named in honor of Ruth Ellis, an African-American female activist. Ellis was known for her hospitality and generosity as she opened up her home in the 1930s to gay and lesbian people in Detroit. McClelland said, “She was such an amazing, strong woman, I’m glad that the center is named after her.” For more information, please log on to www. ruthelliscenter.com -Asia Willis -Melissa Herndon Photography Melissaherndon@mac.com
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