Singer Cyndi Lauper will open her True
Colors Residence for LGBT homeless teens in Harlem next Thursday.
The 30-bed facility is the first of its
kind in New York City.
“In New York City, a very
disproportionate number (up to 40 percent) of homeless youth identify
as LGBT,” Lauper said in a fundraising letter. “Even more
disturbing are reports that these young people often face
discrimination and at times physical assault in some of the very
places they have to go for help. This is shocking and inexcusable!”
Lauper's organization differs from the
Ali
Forney Center, whose program offers temporary shelter and aid to
homeless LGBT youth aged 16 to 24.
The True Colors Residence is permanent
housing. Residents will pay rent based on their income and receive
job placement help, if needed.
Carl Siciliano, the founder and
executive director of the Ali Forney Center, welcomed the new
project.
“There are fewer than 200 beds for
homeless youth in New York City, and fewer than ten beds for homeless
LGBT youth,” Siciliano
told WYNC radio. “So every new bed aimed at this new
population is really a matter of life and death that could get kids
off the street.”
(Related: New
York City awards homeless gay teens center Ali Forney $620,000.)