Sue Pihlainen talks of being liberated on the day she summoned the courage to come out to her family as a lesbian.

But among the gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual homeless youth she works with today, emancipating coming-out stories are few and far between, she said.

A step out of the closet can turn into a step onto the streets for many queer youth, leaving them grappling with issues their heterosexual homeless counterparts do not face, experts say.