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Operation Shine America, a Salt Lake City-based advocacy group, will hold a rally to raise awareness about homeless youth. A 2009 survey found that 42 percent of the homeless youths served at the Salt Lake City Homeless Youth Resource Center identified as LGBT. Many of them have run away or been cast away from homes where they were not accepted.
"We are demanding that they be treated with dignity," Operation Shine co-founder Chloe Noble said in a statement. "In one of the richest countries in the world, it is unacceptable for homeless youth to have to endure the intense discrimination and dehumanization they experience every day."
On Saturday, the Shine rally starts at 7 p.m. with free dinner and music at the Utah Pride Center, 361 N. 300 West, Salt Lake City. At 8 p.m., speakers will discuss problems faced by homeless youths, from violence to hunger.
Salt Lake City is one of 25 cities that will hold Shine events on Saturday. Participants will be posing for group photos with flashlights and glow sticks for a video project.