Ohio’s Only LGBTQ+ Homeless Shelter Is Set To Open This Spring
After nearly a decade of planning, a Youngstown nonprofit is preparing to open the state’s only affirming shelter for LGBTQ+ adults experiencing homelessness.
Featured image by SDI Productions via Getty Images
LGBTQ+ adults are twice as likely as the general population to experience homelessness at some point in their lives. In Ohio, that risk has been compounded by a lack of affirming shelter options, especially for adults. But that’s about to change this spring, when Full Spectrum Community Outreach opens the state’s only LGBTQ+ adult homeless shelter.
Based in Youngstown, the nonprofit has been working toward this moment for nearly a decade. Eight years ago, leaders at Full Spectrum Community Outreach began talking about what it would look like to create a shelter designed specifically for LGBTQ+ people. Now, that vision is close to becoming real.
“It’s important to provide a safe space where everyone can be themselves,” Full Spectrum Community Outreach operations manager Katie Coriston told Spectrum News.
Related: New Documentary Honors Ohio’s First And Longest-Running Lesbian Bar
The shelter will operate out of Full Spectrum’s community center and is expected to open in March. To start, it will function as a short-term emergency shelter, initially offering four beds to adults in crisis. While the stay will be brief, the intention is not simply to offer a night indoors, but to help people stabilize and connect with longer-term support.
“That’s the most important part,” said Coriston. “Making sure that we are providing a safe, warm space for them to sleep. To be connected to resources, to have things that are not provided currently for a large portion of the community.”
Coriston said the need is urgent, in part because LGBTQ+ people experiencing homelessness often cannot access existing shelters.
“The big shelters are not accepting, and they actually do not allow same sex couples or trans individuals to even step foot inside their front door,” she said.
During their stay, clients will have access to beds, hot meals, donated clothing, a free food pantry, and referrals to affirming services. Full Spectrum plans to work through a referral process, likely in partnership with 211, while continuing to provide food and other support services directly to the community.
The long-term goal goes well beyond a two-day stay. Bortner said the organization hopes to expand the shelter into a 60-day transitional program.
“Our ultimate goal for this is to turn this into a 60-day transitional shelter,” he said. “We want to offer life skill classes, job classes, interview classes, cooking classes. That’s more time to help them get housing, help them get a job, help them get more sustainable and on their feet.”
Being the only LGBTQ+ adult shelter in Ohio also puts Full Spectrum in a position to serve as a model. Coriston said the organization has already heard from groups across the state and the country who want to learn from their approach.
Related: NYC Opens Nation’s First Homeless Shelter for Transgender People
Still, the focus remains local. Both Coriston and Bortner emphasize that their priority is serving the Mahoning Valley while building something that could inspire similar projects elsewhere.
“My oldest is a part of the community,” said Corsiton. “I feel like this is how I could help make a difference and hopefully make a huge difference.”
As Full Spectrum prepares to open its doors, the message behind the shelter is simple and urgent.
“It’s so important that everyone has access to those services no matter who they are and no matter who they love,” Coriston said. “Everyone deserves that.”
More information about Full Spectrum Community Outreach and the shelter project can be found on the organization’s website and social media pages.
