For Pride month, we are highlighting housing in San Diego developed for LGBTQ+ communities. Across San Diego County there are several developments run by local LGBTQ+ centers that assist seniors and young people that identify as LGBTQ+ be providing safe and affirming housing facilities.

First, the San Diego LBGT Community Center (also known as just “The Center”) provides several housing options for the communities they serve: Sunburst Youth Housing Project, North Park Senior Apartments, and Karibu.

According to The Center, the Sunburst Youth Housing Project “was created to provide safe and supportive housing for San Diego’s homeless youth between 18-24, including LBGTQ and youth living with HIV.” Sunburst supports youth who are unhoused, oftentimes due to being kicked out of their homes because of their identity. The 23-unit project aims to provide these youth with an easier pathway to stable housing, as well as important services such as “case management, connection to health care, on-site mental health services, benefits enrollment, HIV testing, life skills training, educational and employment support” (The Center). The Center notes that “This project has been made possible by the leadership and vision of Rev. Tony Freeman, Dr. Heather Berberet, San Diego City Councilmember Toni Atkins, Jennifer LeSar, The Center and its project collaborators — YMCA Youth and Family Services, San Diego Youth and Community Services, Metropolitan Community Church, Walden Family Services and the Chadwick Center at Children’s Hospital.”

Another unique housing service through The Center is the North Park Senior Apartments, one of only a few LGBTQ-affirming affordable senior complexes in the country, and the only one in San Diego. This 76-unit development offers “a Community Center and lounge, courtyard, and rooftop terrace with views of the San Diego skyline” (Community HousingWorks), as well as services for residents who are formerly homeless. The Center states that they “worked for a decade with Community Housing Works to gain support and funding for the complex.”

The third housing service that The Center has is Karibu. This permanent supporting housing program consists of 23 units located throughout San Diego County. “Residents receive critical support services such as case management, connection to health care, benefits enrollment, HIV testing, life skills training, educational and employment support,” The Center says.

In the greater San Diego area, North County LBGTQ Resource Center, located in Oceanside also provides housing services for LGBTQ+ folks. Their program is called Unicorn Homes, which “provides transitional housing to youth who are homeless or are at risk of homelessness due to coming out as part of the LGBTQ+ community, and provides paths to mental health resources, job readiness, life coaching, and independent living skills” (North County LGBTQ Resource Center). While their services are for those aged 14 and up, their Unicorn Village, which just opened last year, allows up to six months of residence for those aged 18-28 and provides five small sleeping cottages, along with community living areas. KPBS says that this is “the first program of its kind in North County and that it addresses a critical need in the region,” and that “more cottages are planned for the future.”

Housing services like the ones explored in this article are an essential way that the real estate and development field can support and serve the LGBTQ community, creating safe spaces for them to thrive.

To learn more about The San Diego LGBT Center and its housing services, click here: https://thecentersd.org/housing-services/

To learn more about the North County LGBTQ Resource Center and its housing services, click here: https://www.ncresourcecenter.org/unicorn-homes

Sources: The San Diego LGBT Center, Community HousingWorks, North County LGBTQ Resource Center, KBPS