Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania are filled with non-profits helping different communities. One in particular focuses on the queer community experiencing homelessness.
Proud Haven is a non-profit specializing in housing for displaced queer people. The organization’s mission is to “provide a safe shelter for LGBTQIA+ youth (ages 18-25) experiencing homelessness in Pittsburgh.”
The nonprofit offers many different programs for the communities it serves. One is the QMNTY Closet, which features shelf-stable goods, hygiene products, clothes, and a small supply of gender-affirming items.
“We only ask that people sign in,” Lyndsey Sickler, Executive Director at Proud Haven, says. “We don’t request ID or employment history. They say they need it, they need it.”
They also offer emergency short-term hotel stays as needed.
The nonprofit also opened its new combined office with TransYOUniting, the QMNTY Center, last year. TransYOUniting is another Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that focuses on Black trans women and other transgender individuals and focuses on job readiness. Although they are their own organizations, the two often work together.
The QMNTY Center opened its doors to the public last summer.
“It only made sense for us to find more ways to work together because you can’t keep a house unless you can keep a job, and you can’t keep a job unless you can keep a house,” Sickler says.
The QMNTY Center holds many different community programs, such as arts and crafts nights, movie nights, workshops, and more. Additionally, it now has an actual staff, including case workers, to help its cause.
“I’m so grateful for the people who come and volunteer,” Sickler shares. “I’m grateful for the people that help put the word out that we’re here. And now, shifting gears and having attained grant funding in order to have an actual staff, it’s just freaking amazing.”
They now have case workers on staff, residential assistants who are shelter house moms, and more. Sickler says that the nonprofit has definitely seen an increase in traffic as well.
They share that Proud Haven has exceeded its goals by implementing increased programming, housing, and other initiatives since working more with TransYOUniting and moving into the QMNTY Center.
“In order to truly help, we have to work together,” Sickler explains. “Which is where the QMNTY Center and Better Together comes from.”
Another collaborator is Allies for Health + Wellbeing. Their partnership brings STI and HIV testing to the center a few days a week.
Another nonprofit, the O’Noir Foundation, is a huge supporter of Proud Haven. They host an annual “O’Noir: The Experience” fundraiser to raise funds for LGBTQIA+ organizations that support homeless youth, young adults, and marginalized communities.
The fundraiser combines fashion and food, and the money raised supports different organizations in the city. Proud Haven has received money from them for the past few years, totaling almost $30,000.
Sickler shares that the first $5,000 that the foundation raised for Proud Haven literally kept their lights on.
This year’s fundraiser takes place tonight.
