ConneQt offers youth solidarity not charity

Program matches LGBTQI+ youth facing homelessness with host families

ConneQt staff help a youth move from host home to stable housing. ConneQt is under the umbrella of Avenues for Youth, an organization founded in 1994 by Michelle Basham, a 19-year-old youth experiencing homelessness. The organization aimed to provide resources. (Photo submitted)

Program matches LGBTQI+ youth facing homelessness with host families_Jan Willms.mp3

Posted Wednesday, June 10, 2026 11:24 am

Meet a host family

A lot of personal growth.

This is what Haven Davis and Sam Wallace both say they have gained through their experience as a host couple with ConneQt.

They heard about the program in 2020, and with a pause during COVID, started hosting in 2022.

“We work with whatever the need is,” Davis said. “If there is a youth who needs housing, we just take care of them.”

Wallace added that everyone is different. “An experience with one youth may be very different from an experience with another,” he said.

Although now seasoned hosts, Davis and Wallace emphasized how important their initial training was.

“A lot of it starts with a curriculum Avenues has created over the years,” Wallace said. “There are independent studies, recordings, extensive documentation and a workbook every host works their way through. The training is designed to provide hosts with the tools and resources they need, while also challenging them to make sure they fully understand what the program is and what it is not.

“For me, in the training, I found such strong community in the Avenues staff and other folks. We were there with other new hosts and former hosts who came and talked about their experiences. It was an opportunity to be introduced into that community.”

Davis noted that if a potential host was coming in with the idea they are going to take in a young person who does all the learning and growing, they would struggle. “It’s going to take humility, empathy and a willingness to learn together.”

One of the greatest challenges Wallace said he faced in becoming a host was the practicality level. “It has been just the two of us with our patterns and routines,” he said. “You have to get used to living with other people again and including the young person in your planning.”

Wallace said, “It is not a foster program. You are not a parent or a guardian. It is sharing and supporting and being a landing place.”

Davis said that there is not a word to describe the relationship the host has with the youth. “It’s not a relationship with your brother or niece or friend or neighbor. It’s unique,” Davis said.

Wallace stressed the importance of communicating in a way that respects the privacy and needs of the young person. According to Davis, the hosting has provided a very concrete way for her and Wallace to live out their values. “Our relationship has gotten stronger,” she noted.

“There are lots of moments in the moment when you think, ‘Wow! This is a cool thing to be part of.’ And when the youth has left, you remember all the positive things that happened.”

Davis and Wallace agreed that it is okay for a prospective host to start the training and then realize it is not a good fit.

“Having a strong sense of self not rooted in ego, but in understanding who you are as a person can really help buffer some of the chaos and uncertainty and hard moments,” Wallace said.

“People who want to host have to decide if they have the capacity to do it,” Davis added. “If not, there are so many other things they can help with.

“This program is probably the hardest thing I have chosen to do in my life,” she continued. “But as it has been said, anything of value in your life is going to be hard.”

Wallace agreed. “I don’t see a time in our lives when this program will not be a part of us in some way.”

Audio

Program matches LGBTQI+ youth facing homelessness with host families_Jan Willms.mp3

Jan Willms

It is a time of political and cultural assault on trans youth.
That assessment was made by Ryan Berg, program manager for ConneQt, which provides host families for LGBTQI+ young people between the ages of 16 and 24.
“There is a local and national trend on one side of the political spectrum to erase trans from public life,” Berg continued. “Just knowing your government doesn’t want you to exist is detrimental to emotional health, and can destabilize housing and employment and make it hard to work on longer goals for a more stable future.”
He said that is why ConneQt, which has been around since 1997, is more in need than ever of host families.
ConneQt is under the umbrella of Avenues for Youth, an organization founded in 1994 by Michelle Basham, a 19-year-old youth experiencing homelessness. The organization aimed to provide a resource for homeless youth in the Twin Cities.
Over the years, Avenues has significantly expanded its services, according to Berg. It supports over 300 youth annually through transitional living, shelter and host home programs. There are locations in Minneapolis and Brooklyn Park.
Berg said there are housing vouchers for young families, and a portion of rent is available for those who are working. There is an employment and education specialist to assist youth, and a case manager who helps them attain identification documents, health insurance and set up medical visits.
“We help young people achieve their dreams,” Berg said. “They set their own goals, and we help the youth reach them.”

YOUTH CREATED PROGRAM
ConneQt, originally called GLBT Host Program, was created because the community recognized that LGBTQI+ youth would rather sleep on the streets than access a shelter, due to discrimination and harassment, according to Berg.
“We listened to the young people to find out which intervention would work best,” he said. He said 30 percent of this population is in foster homes, and there were two major complaints: the youth had no say in where they would stay, and the people offering foster care were paid.
“With ConneQt, each host writes an open letter describing who they are and why they want to be a part of the program,” Berg stated. “The youth are determined to meet potential hosts in person. This may seem like a small thing, but having a choice is instrumental in emotional and mental growth.”
Berg added that hosts are asked to provide food and shelter for the LGBTQI+ youth. ConneQt can assist with hygiene products or clothes for an interview.
He said ConneQt works with 10 youth at a time, finding hosts and providing connections to resources that can help with legal name changes or gender-affirming care or surgery. “We help them connect.”
ConneQt works with numerous community organizations and folks. On Mondays a drop-in center is available at Family Tree Clinic (1919 Nicollet Ave), a sexual and mental health clinic.
“We bring in therapy dogs at the end of the month,” Berg stated. “We recently had a dumpling-making workshop, and we have an arts therapist come in. Inter-generational relationships are formed.”
Rainbow Wardrobe provides clothing that is gender neutral or specific to the needs of trans or non-binary youth.

ALL PARTICIPANTS MOVE ON TO STABLE HOUSING
Berg noted that ConneQt understands the importance of building relationships and trust with the young people it works with. And it has proven successful. In the past four years, all participants in the program have moved on to stable housing.
‘”We do not screen for documentation or citizenship,” Berg related. “We have a few undocumented youth who have been terrified and terrorized by the recent occupation. Some are trans and Latino and citizens, but they are still terrified.”
ConneQt has provided guidance about how to engage with ICE and what to share and not share. “This has been causing mass PTSD in our community,” Berg added.
Berg said ConneQt gets calls from all over the country from people saying they heard about the program and wondering if they can participate.
“We don’t have enough hosts for our youth in Minnesota,” he said. “But if someone does not fit into our age range or needs a level of care we cannot provide, we try to help with resources, such as food shelves or therapy.”

HOSTS COME IN MANY FORMS
ConneQt does not license homes. “We are concerned that people feel safe in their experience,” Berg said.
“Hosts come in many different forms,” he continued. “They are empty nesters, singles, couples, straight or non-binary. We do screenings and background checks, and provide 16 hours of training. We just want them to be affirming of a young person.”
The host stays are usually about a year. They depend on the circumstances of the young person. If a youth has a semester of school to finish, the length of the internship might be extended.
ConneQt offers monthly community networking meetings. “We talk about what is working well and what is challenging,” Berg said.
ConneQt has been recognized nationally and internationally as a role model, and it is the longest-running host program in the country. “The program is one of solidarity, not charity,” Berg said. “That’s important.”
Interested in learning more about ConneQt? Contact Ryan Berg at 612-345-8445 or email rberg@avenuesforyouth.org.