BEDFORD PARK — Homeless LGBT youths are getting a new place to stay in The Bronx.
Grammy Award-winning singer Cyndi Lauper and nonprofit housing company West End Residences are teaming up to build the "True Colors" residences, a complex with 30 studio apartments to house vulnerable young people, organizers said.
Each unit at the complex, located at 2808 Jerome Ave., is intended to accomodate one person. The facility comes with a community room with TV and couches, a kitchen, a computer lab/library, a laundry room, a backyard patio area, 24-hour security and an on-site super.
The site will also offer support including an on-site mental health expert and life skills manager, but residents would not be required to use these services, according to West End.
Residents of True Colors must be between 18 and 24 years old when moving in, but they can stay as long as they need to, organizers said. If someone moves in at age 18 and is still looking for housing when they turn 25, for instance, they will not be forced to leave the residence, organizers said.
A 2008 study from The Coalition for Homeless Youth found that the city was home to more than 3,800 homeless young people, and a 2010 study from New York City found that between 15 and 40 percent of homeless youths in the city identified as LGBTQ.
"Considering the large numbers of homeless LGBT youth in this city, 30 units of permanent supportive housing simply isn't enough," West End Residences Executive Director Colleen Jackson said in a statement. "The Bronx is the next step toward fulfilling that goal."
West End Residences already has one other development for LGBT youths, also with 30 studio apartments, in Harlem at West 154th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Youths typically come to the group through referrals from other non-profits, case workers or the government, they said.
West End is also looking to expand its housing offerings to the rest of the city and is eyeing the Queens and Brooklyn for its next locations, organizers said.
Construction on the Bronx project started in January, and West End Residences hopes to have it finished by next August. Rent will depend on how much the resident makes, organizers said.
West End selected its Bronx location to try making sure affordable housing is spread throughout the city and to make sure that it had good access to public transportation. The Kingsbridge Road stops on the B, D and 4 lines are nearby.
The city's Department of Homeless Services did not immediately comment.
