The pride that fuels True Colors United’s Jeff Katz’s queer youth advocacy

Standing wide-eyed among thousands of people celebrating and waving rainbow flags, Jeff Katz had a moment of revelation at his first Pride in San Francisco, Calif.

“I remember feeling like these were my people,” said Katz. “I found that understanding of what community really meant. It didn't matter if you were queer or not. You were there to celebrate and to uplift the community, and that has really stuck with me all these years.”

Nearly 23 years later, that same sense of belonging now drives Katz’s work as the Senior Director of Development at True Colors United (TCU). Under Katz’s leadership, the nonprofit organization has become a leading force in advocating for LGBTQ+ youth who are disproportionately affected by homelessness.

“Forty percent more LGBTQ+ youth experience homelessness than their straight peers,” emphasized Katz of the challenge queer young people face today. “I want to be part of the solution.”

Last year, Katz moved to Annapolis, Md. to join TCU, bringing over more than a decade of professional experience working with queer organizations like My Friend’s Place and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Founded in 2008 by pop icon Cindy Lauper and her group of friends, the nonprofit focuses on addressing the root causes of queer youth homelessness. At TCU, Katz leads the nonprofit to provide a safe space where LGBTQ+ youth can not only survive but more importantly — thrive.

“We’re really proud to say that we are the queerest organization working in youth homelessness in the U.S.,” Katz said. “We also have a huge majority of our staff have their own lived experience of homelessness. We believe that we're not going to solve an issue like youth homelessness if we don't have young people at the table.”

Katz does just that by leading TCU’s Youth Action Summit and the National Youth Forum on Homelessness. According to Katz, he implements these two programs’ shared core mission of amplifying the voices of LGBTQ+ youth by directly bringing homeless youth into the conversations, giving them the tools to advocate for themselves and work toward policy changes in their communities around the country.

“I was impressed by both how smart and passionate these young people are about making change,” said Katz, “and wanting to leave this community in a better place than they found it.”

But Katz’s work at TCU does not stop at the national level. Katz told me TCU is launching “a first-of-its-kind data research project in East Africa” to understand of the size of the queer youth population in countries like Kenya, where “an influx of LGBTQ+ refugees who are essentially arriving there and experiencing homelessness on day one if they don't have family or friend connections and a place to stay.”

To Katz, fostering connections for homeless queer youth in the U.S. and across the world is also deeply personal. Katz told me he was outed at 15 and he would not have survived without the support of his family and the LGBTQ+ friends.

“There was a part of me that was like I wish I wasn't [gay],” Katz recalled that difficult period of his life.“Wouldn't life be easier if I was straight?”

It is clear to me that Katz understands the importance of community and connections. While the challenges LGBTQ+ youth face today are daunting, Katz remains hopeful.

“Try your hardest to block out the BS that's out there,” Katz left a message to queer youth in the latest episode of Out’s “Coming Out, Me.” “For as many people that love and support our community, there's going to be folks that don't. And those are usually the people that are the loudest — and that means you have to work all the much harder to drown that out because the care, the acceptance, the community is there.”

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