Cyndi Lauper To Open Gay Homeless Shelter
Award-winning singer and actor Cyndi Lauper is letting her “True Colors” shine through with development of a gay homeless shelter for teenagers she’s helping to build.
According to the San Diego Gay & Lestbian Times, Lauper says she is planning to open a shelter for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people.
The gay icon said the shelter in Harlem will be called True Colors Residence and will support young people who have been kicked out of their homes by their parents and disowned.
Anywhere from 3,000 to 8,000 LGBT youths are homeless in New York City, according to estimates from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
“Kids are coming out in greater numbers as they see themselves accepted and represented on TV and in movies, but they’re still being kicked out of their homes or running away and living on the streets,” Lauper said in a statement.
“We need to make sure we’re taking care of them. This is the next generation of the LGBT community.”
The six-story building in Harlem will have 30 studio apartments, a computer room, a library and communal space. Residents, who must be between the ages of 18 and 24, will pay rent based on income, according to Section 8 rules.
Organizers hope the shelter will be operational by winter 2011.
Click here to read the full story
