By John Hayden
Ostracized, abandoned, and othered. That’s how many LGBTQIA+ youth feel as they try to start their lives. A new place is offering another feeling: Welcomed.
Sunshine Pride House is a welcoming safe space for LGBTQIA+ youth in crisis. Many are transitioning out of foster care while others come in right off the streets. The home is a collaborative effort between Sunshine Cathedral, which owns and manages the property, and SunServe, which provides programming such as therapy, social outings, and other ways to connect and form their own community. FLITE Center provides supervision of the home as well as doing intake for new residents. Our Fund Foundation is responsible for continuing the funding.
“The minute Sunshine Cathedral came to the table I knew this was it. We have the final piece of the puzzle,” Our Fund’s David Jobin told OutClique. “For the last few years, we’ve had an LGBT homeless youth fund. But it never had a house. We gave them money to get off the street. Hotel money, help studying for the GED. But donors were pushing for a house. Where’s the roof?”
Sunshine Pride House is a passion project SunServe CEO Tony Lima’s been working on since he joined the organization two years ago. “We are preparing these youth to live a successful life. We’re not just giving them space. They stay months, whatever it takes to get them on their feet.”
“Our goal is to help kids get off the street, learn the life skills they need to transition to independence, and gain stability and a family feeling as they grow,” FLITE’s Chief Program Officer, Cara Malave, said.
The home has twelve beds, double the original operating capacity. Lima says the extra beds exponentially help them broaden the mission. While most of the residents are long term, meaning they’re there for several weeks or months, two beds are kept open for emergency intake.
While similar efforts have been attempted by other area groups, they all came up short. Sunshine Cathedral Senior Minister Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins believes this time will be different. “We’re very excited. It’s going to have great clinical care, counseling, and social work. This is the most collaborative effort I’ve seen since I moved to South Florida 17 years ago.”
With four of South Florida’s major LGBTQ philanthropies and service organizations, Dr. Watkins says the outlook is good. “We are passionate about saving queer lives and bringing joy to queer lives. We do a lot for adults and seniors, and we want to do something for young people.”
