Pride Haven provides shelter and services to houseless LGBTQ youth

The local nonprofit Pride Haven works to provide shelter first so guests are free to focus on other aspects of their lives.
Pride Haven, a service of the local nonprofit SAVE, Inc., helps clients as an overnight shelter while also offering case management, meals, housing/job assistance and much more.

It uses a "housing first" model, which operates under the belief that if you house somebody first, you can then address other things like mental health, substance abuse, relationship issues, and more.

"Historically, I think that people have thought, 'No, no. You need to address this drug use problem before you deserve to get housing.' And it doesn't really work," says Scout DeSimio, the program manager at Pride Haven. "It's really hard to maintain stability and to get the treatment that you need if you're not housed."