A new Senate committee staffer faced a road fraught with adversity in his journey to the Hill.
Over six years, Kristopher Sharp went from being homeless on the streets of Houston to a successful college student at the University of Houston, to the victim of a hate crime, and finally to being a legislative aide for Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Sharp's path through the Texas foster care system was traumatic: In an article for Huffington Post, Sharp wrote he was "raped and beaten more times than I can imagine." After aging out of the foster care system, he lived on the streets of Houston for six months and says he was forced into prostitution to eat or to find somewhere to sleep indoors.
In August 2010, however, Sharp stumbled onto the campus at the University of Houston. Looking for a restroom and a reprieve from the Texas heat, he learned of a program that provided foster care youth a tuition waiver at state schools in Texas. He took advantage of the program and graduated in 2015 with a degree in social work.
During his time at school, Sharp was elected vice president of the student body. During the election, however, fliers were passed around campus and outed his homosexuality and published his medical records, which revealed he was HIV-positive, the Houston Press reported.
Sharp moves to Murray's staff from a fellowship on the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus with Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.).
