Which Glee Character Is Headed for Homelessness?

by Josie Raymond · 2010-09-14 14:38:00 UTC
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Millions will be glued to their sets when the second season of the toe-tapping, must-see show Glee premieres on FOX next Tuesday, Sept. 21. Homeless advocate and likely "gleek" Joel John Roberts recently posed a silly question with a very serious answer on Poverty Insights: which Glee character is most likely to become homeless?

He points to contenders like Quinn, a pretty 16-year-old cheerleader who becomes pregnant and gets kicked out, a true-to-life series of events. And Emma Pillsbury, a germophobe guidance counselor who struggles with the mental illness. And Artie, a guitar player in a wheelchair. Two out of five homeless adults have a disability, Roberts reminds us.

"We sometimes forget that many of the homeless adults struggling on our streets today were teens facing peer pressure, acne and bad haircuts back when they were in high school," he writes. "Last year, when I was part of surveying the homeless population in my hometown of Long Beach, California, I ran into a homeless man along the river just west of downtown. He had been in the same high school graduating class as me."

The show has become iconic in the gay community for its inclusive portrayals. There's a gay teen who can't help but crush on a straight guy. There's a student who gushes about her two gay fathers. Out actor Neil Patrick Harris guest starred. And there was an entire Madonna-themed episode. Why couldn't it become a cultural touchstone for those who care about homelessness, as well?

Sad as it is, a high school is the perfect place to look at homelessness in this country. There are at least one million homeless students in America's public schools right now and there's no better place to draw attention to them than on a network show nominated for a whopping 19 Emmys. The fact that Glee has established itself as sympathetic to the fight for equality might help as well, since 20 to 40 percent of homeless teens identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Most often, it's their sexual orientation that caused their homelessness.

A positive media portrayal of a young homeless person on a show like Glee could change perceptions, since people care more about Rachel, Finn, Kurt and Quinn than faceless statistics. If producers want to see advocates sing Britney and moonwalk, they'll write homelessness into a future storyline.

Photo credit: Neal Jennings

Josie Raymond is a Change.org editor who has reported from the streets of the South Bronx, written for several magazines that folded (not her fault) and fixed thousands of typos.
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