Cyndi Lauper is planning on opening a shelter for homeless LGBT (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgenders) in New York City. She plans on naming it "True Colors" after Lauper's hit single from the 1980's. Construction of the facility begins Thursday at West 154th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard in Manhattan. According to Zap2It 40 percent of the homeless are LGBT people. Lauper says the residents of the shelter will pay rent based on income and have access to job assistance as well as social programs to help get them back on their feet. Many young LGBTs even lose support of their loved ones at home, winding up on the streets only to then be subjected to mistreatment and violent acts against them. I remember watching a documentary on "bridge kids". This is the term given to gay teens who hung out on the bridge, I do not remember what bridge it was, in New York City. At night these kids would usually have sex for food or money or temporary shelter with whomever was willing to pay. Kids as young as 12 were out there doing this. They did it to survive. Their families disowned them ad kicked them out because of their sexuality and they were left to fend for themselves. As we know young LGBT men and women are easy targets for many people, whether they know it or not. I hope that this is successful and spawns off into many more shelters across the nation. I applaud Cydni for this and I am going to give her 2 Digits Up. Good Luck.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
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