People raised thousands to send this homeless gay teen to college after his parents kicked him out

A gay teenager hopes to fulfil his dream of going to college – even though he was rejected by his parents and made homeless.

18-year-old Seth Owen of Jacksonville, Florida was made homeless after his parents, who are evangelical Christians, discovered that he is gay by snooping on his phone messages.

His parents ordered him to attend gay ‘cure’ sessions at a local church, and gave him an ultimatum, telling him to either do so or leave home.

Seth Owen

The teen chose to remain true to himself, and became homeless.

He explained to local news outlet News4Jax: “They made it clear the intention was to make me straight. [That] was their end goal. Either go to church or you can move out.

“I called a mentor. I said, I can’t do this. I went back in and asked, ‘Is there any way that we can compromise,’ and my dad said no.

“I was really, really upset. It was extremely hurtful to know that I was walking out that door not knowing what lay ahead and feeling I don’t know how to explain it it was devastating, absolutely devastating.”

Seth Owen

Luckily Seth was able to stay with friends, and could make ends meet by working full-time alongside his education.

Thanks to his own drive and the help of the community around him, the bright student held down an impressive 4.16 grade point average at school, and became his class’s co-valedictorian.