In late July, The Center completed the initial funding to secure acquisition of the property for our Youth Housing Project, but as we continue to move forward with this project, there will be numerous opportunities for our San Diego LGBT community and all those who care about youth to support this project and to take advantage of naming opportunities. We will need our community’s support to make sure we can open the doors by the end of the year, and to provide essential support services to these young people once they get there.

Arriving at this important milestone provided an opportunity to think back to the beginning of this project.

Four years ago, Dr. Heather Berberet, the Reverend Tony Freeman, Deputy Mayor Toni Atkins and Jennifer LeSar joined together to discuss the issue of homelessness among our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV-positive youth. Their compassion and vision has served as the foundation of this project.

We were quickly joined by community experts and program collaborators, including: Cesar Portillo; Laura Mustari, Ken Tyner and the YMCA; Mindy Watrous and Walden Family Services; the Reverend Dan Koeshall of Metropolitan Community Church; Jan Stankus and San Diego Youth & Community Services; and Al Killen-Harvey and Children’s Hospital Chadwick Center. A needs assessment was commissioned and funded with the help of: the Benjamin F. Dillingham Community Grants; Benjamin F. Dillingham, III; Brians’ American Eatery; Carol Bittman & Anita Gibbins; Fred Hammond; Gerald Micklos; Glenn Krasinski; Cesar Portillo; the Gay & Lesbian Times; the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation; the Imperial Court de San Diego; the Weingart Foundation; James Ziegler; and many, many others.

One of the most stunning – and devastating – things about this study was that it took just four months to identify more than 400 homeless LGBTQ youth. The needs assessment confirmed what The Center’s Hillcrest Youth Center staff continues to see every day – there are hundreds of homeless LGBT youth on our San Diego streets (some estimate as many as 30-45 percent of homeless youth are LGBT youth) and too few programs designed to address their needs.

Most of these youth said they didn’t utilize other services, or had difficulty when they did because of their sexual orientation, gender or HIV status. In order to protect themselves from discrimination from providers or violence from other youth service recipients, many said they felt the need to hide the truth about who they are. With this new project, we will begin to help change that.

The Center’s youth supportive housing project is one of the first of its kind in the nation, and will provide supportive housing for young adults ages 18-24 in an existing 23-unit apartment building in the city of San Diego, near educational and work opportunities and public transportation. This project will also include access to critically important social services including job and life skills training, support for educational endeavors, drug and alcohol treatment, professional mental health and counseling services, case management, health and HIV/STD education and access to basic medical care. This housing opportunity and these essential support services are specifically designed to successfully transition these youth from lives of desperation and homelessness to productive and healthy futures.

To date, this project has involved literally scores of people, each of whom has played a vital role in launching this project: securing project funds, accessing resources, offering their expertise, or helping to provide significant opportunities. From the City Council to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, including many hard-working city and county staff (including George Biagi and Don Mullen); Pat Getzel and Associates; the incredible staff and board of The San Diego Housing Commission; the Centre City Development Corporation staff and board; the Low Income Investment Fund; the Corporation for Supportive Housing; Dene Oliver; Leslie Wade, Mike Madigan and the East Village Association; to the real estate agents and brokers (many, many thanks to David Yoder, Gail Hillen and Banker’s Hill Properties), and even the title company, Alliance Title. The incredible work of The Center’s Amber Cyphers, project manager, we cannot omit. In a thousand ways this project could not have happened without her efforts.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten many and for that I apologize. It has truly taken hundreds of dedicated community members and allies to build a home for our youth!

Thanks to all of you for your willingness to help and your commitment to making a difference in our community. We are extraordinarily grateful and humbled by the level of support and participation this project has received thus far. All those interested in more information about naming opportunities, sponsorships or other ways you might make donations to the project can call Shawn Ingram, The Center’s director of development, at (619) 692-2077 ext. 204; or e-mail him at singram@thecentersd.org.

If you haven’t yet, we hope you will join with us in supporting this unique and important venture. The future of these young people – and our community – depends on it.