Imagine being a young person trying to live a brave and honest life as your true self, and then your family casts you out because of your sexual orientation.

Moved by the plight of these youth, two generous philanthropists and the Our Fund Foundation joined in an inspiring project with the Sunshine Cathedral, SunServe, and the FLITE Center to create The Sunshine Pride House.

The doors to this new, safe haven in Fort Lauderdale opened Jan. 1. It provides shelter, counseling, education and life skills to unhoused LGBTQ+ young adults left adrift by unsupportive families.

The journey to help began in 2020, when two donors on separate paths, yet sharing the same vision, were introduced to the Our Fund Foundation, South Florida’s only LGBTQ+ community foundation.

Michael Kalb, who championed the project from the beginning, contacted The Our Fund Foundation to discuss what could be done.

“I was profoundly moved and greatly saddened after witnessing numerous young people getting kicked out of their homes,” Kalb said. “Inspired by the compassionate nature of my two daughters, I committed myself to taking action and am incredibly heartened with how we’ve been able to work together to provide safe housing, as well as the critical wrap-around services.”

Fort Lauderdale resident Terry Merlin was simultaneously struck by the stories and statistics surrounding the plight of unhoused LGBTQ+ young adults and felt compelled to take action.

He was fortuitously introduced to Kalb and the Our Fund Foundation by the FLITE Center. Merlin matched Kalb’s generous donation to secure the funds to fully purchase an existing property and retrofit it into The Sunshine Pride House.

“I knew the numbers already were staggering, and when the pandemic hit the situation became even worse,” Merlin said. “I made inquiries about opening a shelter for LGBTQ+ youth and am so grateful to have been introduced to Michael and these incredible non-profit partners.”

The Sunshine Pride House is a six-bedroom, four-bathroom, 2,854-square-foot duplex that can house up to 12 LGBTQ+ young adults. The Sunshine Cathedral organization has more than 50 years of experience owning and managing properties and is the agency that formally acquired and owns the shelter.

“Our congregation immediately expressed interest in supporting LGBTQ unhoused youth, a crisis that has grown over time,” said Robert Griffin, executive minister of the Sunshine Cathedral. “When we learned that the Our Fund Foundation was working on this issue, we quickly signed on as the lead agency to make this vision a reality.”

Collaboration with SunServe and FLITE Center was the driving force behind the project’s early success.

The team at SunServe empowers young people by fostering connections with peers, teaching life skills, facilitating access to social support services and exploring educational and employment opportunities.

FLITE Center is the statewide expert at offering comprehensive access to services for unhoused young people.

“LGBTQ+ unhousedness has been a major issue for years, and there hasn’t been an effective program anywhere yet. We are changing that now,” said Tony Lima, CEO of SunServe.

Christine Frederick, CEO of FLITE Center, said “The safety and wellbeing of the LGBTQ+ young people we serve is our No. 1 priority, and we help to ensure their welfare is secured through The Sunshine Pride House initiative.”

According to a Covenant House survey, LGBTQ+ youth make up only seven percent of the total U.S. youth population, yet they comprise an astounding 40 percent of all young people who are unhoused in the U.S. They face greater risks of “high levels of hardship,” including higher rates of assault, trauma, trafficking and early death.

“It’s been our privilege to make meaningful introductions and serve as the facilitator for this multifaceted project,” said David Jobin, president & CEO of Our Fund Foundation.

“The generous support from Michael and Terry serves as a beacon of hope and is a powerful testament to the transformative influence individual donors can have on marginalized communities.”

While The Sunshine Pride House physical property is paid for, there are ongoing operating costs to support the programs and services required to reintegrate the young people into the greater community. For more information or to make a donation of any size, you can go to www.theourfund.org or call 954-565-1090.

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FPL DONATES EV KITS FOR GO-KART RACE

In December, representatives from Florida Power & Light surprised local high school teams with parts and pieces for the electric go-karts they are building in the Electrathon America program. The company is hoping to electrify passion for STEM by donating the EV kits.

The goal is to see which school can build the most efficient electric go-kart through races against other Florida high school teams.

FPL’s Robert Mantilla said the kit giveaway at Miami Coral Park Senior High was especially meaningful for him.

“I think that giving back to the community is really important. I happen to be an alumni here at Coral Park, and as a result of coming to this school I felt very confident that I would be an engineer. I was able to achieve that goal and now I work for FPL.”

Through the Electrathon America program, students design, build and race their electric vehicles while they get hands-on opportunities to apply creativity in a practical setting. They also learn teamwork, problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

Miami Coral Park senior Jake Daniel said he is grateful for the “amazing opportunity.”

“I’m very happy FPL came out here to help us out and give us these kits. I can’t wait to jump in.”

Learn more about Electrathon at FPL.com/education.

Write to ChristinaMMayo@gmail.com with news for this column.