LGBTQ+ Supportive Housing Residence To Open In Harlem This Month

HARLEM, NY - A new affordable housing development with supportive services for formerly homeless LGBTQ+ youth is slated to open later this month in Harlem.

New York-based nonprofit Homeward NYC will open its third LGBTQ-affirming young adult supportive housing site at 15 W. 118th St. on Oct. 24, complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and appearances from local elected officials.

The nine-story development will offer 50 units of supportive housing for formerly homeless young adults ages 18 to 24 in an “LGBTQIA-affirming environment,” according to a spokesperson from the nonprofit. Services will include case management, life skills, counseling, community partnerships and group activities.

Average units will measure at roughly 469 square feet, per New York YIMBY. Residents also won't be able to age out of supportive housing units so long as they are 24 years old or younger when they move in.

The building will also have a superintendent and energy-efficient features, as well as low-cost internet for residents.

The $22 million supportive housing development opens at a time when LGBTQ+ individuals make up 40 percent of all young people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. By comparison, only about 7 percent of youth in the U.S. identify as LGBTQ, according to Homeward NYC.

LGBTQ+ young adults also face higher risks of hardship, including assault, trauma, trafficking and early death, per Covenant House, a similar New York City housing nonprofit. 43 percent of LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness were kicked out of their homes due to conflicts with family about sexuality and/or gender, according to nonprofit Black and Pink.

Not all shelters are accepting and respect LGBTQ+ individuals, and transgender people are often turned away at shelters, according to Homeward NYC. LGBTQ+ youth are also more likely to face a greater risk of harassment and violence, as well as struggle with substance abuse and mental illness compared to their heterosexual counterparts, per statistics provided by the National Institutes of Health.

LGBTQ+ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers, with the Trevor Project estimating over 1.8 million LGBTQ+ young people ages 13 to 24 seriously considering suicide each year in the U.S.

Homeward NYC currently houses 60 LGBTQ young adults across its other two sites in West Harlem and the Bronx, according to its website. It also operates an intergenerational building that is a transitional family shelter for homeless mothers and their children and affordable housing for low-income and homeless seniors.