LGBTQ people experience homelessness for a variety of other reasons, including the intersection of homophobia & transphobia, poverty, and failed systems. A recent count showed that 29% of San Francisco's almost 7,000 homeless are LGBTQ.

One of our Partner Organizations, Project Homeless Connect, recently shared the story of Rowan, a LGBT individual who was experiencing homelessness in San Francisco. While Rowan was sleeping in Golden Gate Park, someone stole his phone and pants.  The next day, he woke up to find two park rangers standing over him, telling him to pack up and get out.

On a desperate whim, Rowan went to San Francisco's first-ever Project Homeless Connect for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people that Monday. It was like nothing he'd ever stepped into.

"Just being in a room with so many other homeless people who are like me is, well, I guess, nice," the 44-year-old unemployed library clerk said as he headed to the food line to grab a bag of groceries. "They've needed one of these things for a long time!"

That was the consensus among hundreds of homeless people who visited the all-day event at the LGBT Community Center. Project Homeless Connect, now in its 10th year, is a one-stop fair held every three months to offer homeless people counseling, housing, dental work, haircuts, and dozens of other services they have a hard time getting hooked into amid their daily struggles for survival. It regularly draws a couple of thousand people.

We are proud to feature Project Homeless Connect as a Partner Organization. In honor of Pride, all donations received to our website over the course of the 2016 Pride weekend will directly benefit Project Homeless Connect! 

If you or someone you know is looking for LGBT friendly services or housing in the Bay Area, please connect them with the SF LGBT Center Housing Page.