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The Sunshine Pride House

A SAFE HAVEN FOR HOMELESS

LGBTQ+ YOUTH

To make your donation, click here

The
Sunshine Pride House
is a beacon of safety and acceptance.

“With LGBTQ+ youth accounting for 40% of all young people who are unhoused in the U.S., according to a Covenant House survey, The Our Fund Foundation, Sunshine Cathedral and Sunshine Cathedral Foundation, FLITE and SunServe came together to establish the Sunshine Pride House to address the critical issue.” SFBW
The Sunshine Pride House is a safe haven for homeless LGBTQ+ Youth in Fort Lauderdale.  The Sunshine Pride House  is a six-bedroom, four-bathroom, 2,854-square-foot duplex accommodating up to 12 LGBTQ+ young adults.

The Sunshine Pride House will offer shelter, counseling, education and life skills to residents who have been disowned from their families after revealing their sexual orientation

READ MORE AT - PEARSON GRANT

The Sunshine Pride House is  inspiring display of collaborative support

and solidarity, of the Sunshine Cathedral & Sunshine Cathedral Foundation
These highly respected non-profit organizations dedicated to meeting the needs of LGBTQ+ people, joined two donors in their efforts to make The Sunshine Pride House a reality.

Thanks to inspirational leadership and collaborative efforts by philanthropic individuals and organizations, The Sunshine Pride House, a six-bedroom, four-bathroom, 2,854 square-foot duplex in Fort Lauderdale, will house up to 12 LGBTQ+ young adults, a step in the right direction for addressing a critical issue.

Supporting Champions

Supporters of LGBTQ+ donations champion inclusivity and equality, fostering a brighter, more accepting future for all. Their generosity empowers marginalized communities and promotes a world free of discrimination.
Sunshine Cathedral
“It’s been our privilege to make meaningful introductions and serve as the facilitator for this multifaceted project,” said David Jobin president & CEO of The Our Fund Foundation. The Sunshine Cathedral, a trusted organization with more than 50 years of experience owning and managing properties, is the agency that formally acquired and owns the Sunshine Pride House. “Our congregation immediately expressed interest in supporting LGBTQ unhoused youth, a crisis that has grown over time,” said Dr. 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.”
Sunshine Cathedral Foundation

The Sunshine Cathedral Foundation exists to assure the long term fiscal health of the Sunshine Cathedral. It achieves this goal by overseeing investments, endowments, and capital campaigns and being the legal owner and financial caretaker of the Sunshine Cathedral property. This allows the Sunshine Cathedral worshiping community the flexibility to focus on daily operations and ministries. Though separate from Sunshine Cathedral, the Foundation’s purpose is to help the Sunshine Cathedral thrive.
The Foundation is supported primarily through capital campaigns and legacy giving (gifts arranged in wills and life-insurance policies).

The Our Fund Foundation
“It’s been our privilege to make meaningful introductions and serve as the facilitator for this multifaceted project,” said David Jobin president & CEO of The Our Fund Foundation. The Sunshine Cathedral, a trusted organization with more than 50 years of experience owning and managing properties, is the agency that formally acquired and owns the Sunshine Pride House. “Our congregation immediately expressed interest in supporting LGBTQ unhoused youth, a crisis that has grown over time,” said Dr. 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.”
FLITE Center
Collaboration between FLITE Center and SunServe and  was the driving force behind the project’s early success in its beta format. FLITE Center is the statewide expert at offering comprehensive access to services for unhoused young people with a focus on transitioning them to become successful adults. With its wealth of experience in housing oversight and supporting transition-age young people, FLITE Center seamlessly integrates housing services into the broader support framework. “The program serves as a model for current straight and mixed housing facilities, with a strong emphasis on compassion and cultural competency. The safety and wellbeing of the LGBTQ+ young people we serve is our number one priority, and we help to ensure their welfare is secured through the Sunshine Pride House initiative.” said Christine Frederick, CEO of FLITE Center
SunServe
SunServe brings unmatched expertise in Broward County related to serving LGBTQ+ youth. Its  dedicated team empowers young people by fostering connections with peers, teaching life skills, facilitating access to social support services and exploring educational and employment opportunities. “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.
The Sunshine Pride House provides stable housing and comprehensive support for LGBTQ+ young adults, including mentoring, life skills coaching, mental health counseling, and job placement assistance, empowering them to thrive.

Donors Leads The Way

Michael Kalb

initiated the project and reached out to The Our Fund Foundation to explore solutions and garner additional support from donors and non-profit organizations.

“I was profoundly moved and greatly saddened after witnessing numerous young people getting kicked out of their homes,” said Kalb. “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.”

Terry Merlin

moved by the challenges faced by homeless LGBTQ+ youth, joined forces with Kalb and The Our Fund Foundation, matching Kalb's donation to purchase and renovate The Sunshine Pride House.

“I knew the numbers already were staggering and when the pandemic hit the situation became even worse,” said Merlin. “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 Future

Thanks to the generous financial support from Kalb and Merlin, the Sunshine Pride House’s physical property is paid for. However, there are ongoing operating costs to support the programs and services required to reintegrate young people into the greater community. The Our Fund Foundation is taking the lead on raising the annual operating funds, estimated to be $300,000.

“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,” said Jobin.

Donate Now Sunshine Pride House

  • To help support 1 LGBTQ+ Person for 1 Day
    $135
  • To help support 1 LGBTQ+ Person for 15 Days
    $2,025
  • To help support 1 LGBTQ+ Person for 1 Month/30 Days
    $4,050
  • To help support 1 Unit – 6 Individuals for 1 Month/30 Days
    $25,000

Make a Difference NOW by Helping to Save LGBTQ+ Lives.

To make your donation, click here

In Take Opportunities Services

Make a referral through FLITE – Click Here

This portal is for our youth and community partners to refer to our wellness team.   Follow the steps to submit the referral and you will be contacted by our director of health and wellness.

Broward 24/7Hotline: 954-649-8700
Central Region 24/7 Hotline: 954-649-8941

Additional Contact:

Funding Opportunities contact
David Jobin, President/CEO, The Our Fund Foundation
Mail: DJobin@Our-Fund.org

Call: 954-565-1090

For more information, please contact
Rev. Dr. Robert Griffin, Executive Minister, Sunshine Cathedral
Mail: Robert@SunshineCathedral.org

Call: 954.462.2004

Mario DePedro, Program Director of Youth & Family Services, Sunserve
Mail: mdepedro@sunserve.org

Call: (954) 686-8240