New art installation hopes to raise awareness for Milwaukee County's unsheltered LGBTQ+ youth

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- More than 40% of unsheltered teens across the nation are part of the LGBTQ+ community according to the National Coalition for Homelessness. At Cathedral Square Park, a new art installation hopes to raise awareness for unsheltered LGBTQ+ youth right here in Milwaukee.

No one should have to worry about where they will sleep at night.

“It’s estimated that 4.2 million – 4.2 million teens across our country experience housing instability each year,” said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson. “These are kids, many times, rejected by their families, caught in systems that fail to protect them.”

That's the message elected officials and local nonprofits hope to spread just days before Pride Month – a nationally recognized time to honor and celebrate those part of the LGBTQ+ community.

Courage+, formerly known as Courage MKE, is the only nonprofit in the state that provides housing to LGBTQ+ youth exclusively. Brad Schlaikowski, the founder of Courage+, partnered with local artists to create cardboard beds. Each bed represents an unsheltered child in Milwaukee County.

“Some of them are as young as 12 years old. Think about that. Some of these kids are young as 12 years old on the streets, by themselves without support,” said Johnson.

There are five beds placed across Milwaukee County, including one in Cathedral Square. Each bed comes with a QR code. When you scan that QR code, it gives you more information about Wisconsin’s unsheltered youth.

Schlaikowski says he hopes this art helps people understand the need for more LGBTQ+ shelters.

“We need one of these in 72 counties. There are queer kids in every one of our counties,” said Schlaikowski.

In Milwaukee, data on the city’s unsheltered LGBTQ+ youth has not been collected since 2014.

“We’re all going to work together as LGBTQ organizations, I hope to get that data,” said Schlaikowski.

He hopes that no child in any county has to worry about a roof over their heads.

“There’s so much more love in our communities than we all know about and I hope we wrap our kids up in that, especially on the cusp of Pride Month,” said Schlaikowski.