New transitional housing facility for LGBT foster youth opens in Palm Springs

Long a retirement community and a haven for the LGBT community, Palm Springs is now seeing more resources for younger residents.

Sanctuary Palm Springs, a transitional housing facility for LGBT youth leaving the foster care system, opened a new location in Palm Springs Monday. Founders say the home is the only one of its kind in the nation.

The facility, which caters to people between the ages of 18 and 21, aims to help at-risk youth develop independent living skills, like money management and job training. Sanctuary residents must be working toward their GED, in college, in a vocational school or working at least 80 hours per month to stay at the home.

The facility was co-founded LD Thompson and David Rothmiller, who had both been foster care providers in the past. They were contemplating becoming volunteer legal advocates for children in the court system when a friend told them what was really needed was a place for LGBT youth who were aging out of the foster care system and didn’t have the skills or resources to thrive on their own.

“We realized, this is a sector of sector of society that really needs our help,” Thompson said.

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According to the Human Rights Campaign, the percentage of youth in the foster system who identify as LGBT is higher than the percent of kids in the general U.S. population who identify as LGBT. A study conducted in New York City showed 100 percent of LGBT foster children in group homes reported verbal harassment and 70 percent reported physical abuse.

When the young residents first come to Sanctuary, Thompson said, some of them don’t have bank accounts, drivers licenses or any form of identification. Some of them are working through a post-traumatic stress disorder and trust and abandonment issues.

The staff at Sanctuary helps them access any necessary medical care or counseling, apply for jobs and get ready to live on their own.

Council member Lisa Middleton said the facility was illustrative of what makes the Palm Springs “a unique and wonderful place.”

“There are, across our country, many many youth at risk, and so many of them are LGBT," she said. " What we have here is a place of refuge and a place of safety.”

Thompson said the city’s sense of community made it the perfect place for the facility. When he and Rothmiller first voiced the idea for a shelter for LGBT foster care kids four years ago, friends immediately threw together a fundraiser and rallied support.

Despite it taking two years for Sanctuary to grow from idea to reality, Thompson said all the supporters stuck with them. People donated linens, paint, furniture and other necessities.

“There’s an amazing community of activists and generous individuals who know what it is like to be LGBT and feel alone,” Thompson said.

On Monday, the home on Joyce Drive in the Desert Park Estates neighborhood was christened as the second home for the group. (The first is no longer in use.)

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Desert AIDS Project announced it will provide medical and dental care for the residents and help with job training. Local celebrity interior designer Christopher Kennedy decorated the home. And artist Ryan Campbell painted a custom mural along the backyard wall.

Ellen Wolf, director of operations for Sanctuary Palm Springs, thanked the artists and volunteers for not only making the home a safe place to live, but a beautiful one.

“We really hope that the kids understand that they’re allowed to have beautiful things and that they’re valued,” she said.

As of the opening Monday, the home was already at capacity with six residents. Thompson said he and Rothmiller plan to continue expanding in Palm Springs. Eventually they want to see Sanctuaries across the state and country.

Corinne Kennedy covers the west valley for The Desert Sun. She can be reached at Corinne.Kennedy@DesertSun.com or on Twitter @CorinneSKennedy