San Diego — Today, Representative Scott Peters was joined by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, San Diego City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, San Diego Housing Commission CEO Lisa Jones and Beth Davenport, COO of The San Diego LGBT Community Center, to celebrate $1.5 million in federal funding that Rep. Peters recently secured for a shelter for LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness. The funding will support the San Diego Housing Commission’s conversion of unused office space into a 44-bed shelter that will be operated by The Center in partnership with San Diego Youth Services and the YMCA of San Diego County. Scheduled to open later this year or early next year, it will be the first permanent LGBTQ+-affirming youth shelter in San Diego.

Rep. Peters secured the $1.5 million through the annual Community Projects Funding process, which allows members of Congress to request federal funding for select projects they feel will address the most significant needs facing the communities they represent.

“When the city and the Housing Commission asked for my help to fund this shelter, of course I said yes,” Rep. Peters said. “Budgets are a statement of values, and my values will always be here in San Diego with our community, and with those who fall between the cracks and are most vulnerable.” 

“Teens and young adults who lack a stable living situation need a place to go where they know they'll be supported, respected, and offered the help they need to take the next step in their lives,” Rep. Peters added. “This shelter will provide all of these things.”

“Addressing homelessness is the No. 1 priority for the City of San Diego,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “Helping the unsheltered of all ages get off the street is important and assisting people between the ages of 18 and 24 is absolutely critical because roughly half of people experiencing homelessness today became homeless for the first time at this age.”? 

“Nothing has been more impactful than talking to young people experiencing homelessness, especially young people who have been cast out of their home,” said City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, referring to conversations he had with youth who provided input on the shelter’s design. “All San Diegans should be proud of this.”

“Too often a young person comes out of the closet only to be kicked out of the house,” said Councilmember Stephen Whitburn. “Thanks to Congressman Peters, these young people will have a place to go.”

“Everything from the shelter design to the programs offered within has been informed by transition-age youth and young people in the LGBTQ community,” said San Diego Housing Commission CEO Lisa Jones. “What you will see here is a place where young San Diegans can feel like they are connected to something again.”   

“We have a responsibility to provide the opportunity for these young people to thrive and that starts with a safe space for them to lay their head at night,” she said Beth Davenport, COO of the San Diego LGBT Center.