More than 75 small flowers have been planted in cracks across Wisconsin and the message behind them is bigger than they appear.The installations are part of the "Courage to Grow" campaign by courage+, an organization that provi des housing and support for LGBTQ+ youth. Each flower is placed next to a QR code linking people to resources, including a network of safe spaces for young people in need. Brad Schlaikowski, co-founder and executive director of Courage+, said the flowers are designed to represent the resilience of young people living without stable housing."So when you think about flowers, you think about them being in this beautiful garden bed or a planter or something. But these flowers are not growing in that ideal situation. They're growing out of cement or out of rocks or out of cracks," Schlaikowski said.Watch: Small flowers appearing in cracks across Wisconsin spark conversation about LGBTQ+ youth homelessness Flowers appearing in cracks across Wisconsin spark conversation about LGBTQ+ youth homelessnessSchlaikowski said the campaign is meant to reach everyone not just those already familiar with LGBTQ+ issues."My hope is that anyone that's not in the LGBT community doesn't look at this as a pride initiative or a queer initiative. They look at it as a human initiative because that's what these kids are, regardless of who they are or who they love," Schlaikowski said. Courage+ started in 2015 when Schlaikowski and his husband, Nick, were foster parents."A lot of the kids that came to our house had the similar story of rejection or neglect or bullying because of who they are, who they love. So our plan was just to open one group home, and 10 years later we remain the only group home for LGBT youth within the state," Schlaikowski said.Schlaikowski said 50% of the kids living in the organization's group home are in the system because of family rejection."I think one of the biggest goals we have is to give these kids a sense of community, that they have people. 50% of the kids that live in our group home are in the system because of family rejection of who they are or who they love," Schlaikowski said.The scale of the problem, he said, is not getting enough attention."There's over 1.7 million kids that are homeless in our streets across the country right now. Nobody's talking about it enough," Schlaikowski said. The QR codes placed alongside each flower are designed to make it easy for anyone to find help nearby."All they have to do is scan a QR code and enter their ZIP code, and it tells them how far from where they are the nearest safe space," Schlaikowski said.Schlaikowski described what a safe space means in practice."A safe space entails a place where it's affirming for you to get services. If you're in danger, if someone is following you, this is a place that you can come in, and we'll protect you," Schlaikowski said.He said the flowers are also meant to send a message to LGBTQ+ youth directly."These kids need to know that there are organizations like us and community centers and other queer organizations that are here to support them," Schlaikowski said. "For folks that are in the LGBT community, I hope that they feel seen. I hope that they feel heard," Schlaikowski said.If the flowers wilt or disappear, Schlaikowski said that is intentional."That's the point. Change the word flower to child. What happens when someone steps on, uproots, or damages a child that's living on the street? We're not talking about it, so these flowers are that conversation starter," Schlaikowski said.Schlaikowski said his personal history drives his commitment to the work."I'm passionate about this work because, as a kid growing up in the 80s and 90s, we didn't talk about it. No one talked about it, right? You didn't talk about homosexuality as openly as you do now, and I didn't have safe spaces. We didn't have safe spaces growing up," Schlaikowski said."Our kids don't have their own voice out in the community. Folks might see them or hear them saying something, but they're not listening. And as a 46-year-old man, if I need to lend my voice to these children that desperately need it, myself and my team, that's what we wake up every day for," Schlaikowski said.Organizers hope each flower inspires someone to stop, look closer, and remember that every child deserves a place to belong.TO LEARN MORE VISIT https://courageplus.orgThis story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error ...read more read less