Lucie's Place is a 501(c3) nonprofit founded in 2012 by LGBT organizer Penelope Poppers with the purpose of serving LGBT young adults experiencing homelessness. We are the only shelter of this kind in Arkansas, and we serve anyone experiencing homelessness who identifies as LGBT and is under the age of 26. We offer services to LGBT youth at our downtown community center, where we also host events,
workshops, and activities for the general local LGBT community. Lucie's Place ran a Transitional Living Program (TLP) in our shelter house for two years. We plan to reopen our shelter house this winter 2020 with entirely new, youth-led programming! We are currently assisting our youth with housing through our Rapid Rehousing Project. LGBT young adults under the age of 26 are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than the general population. 40% of homeless young adults identify as LGBT (True Colors United, 2015). 1 in 5 transgender people in the United States have experienced homelesness at some point in their lives, and it is not uncommon for transgender and gender nonconforming LGBT people to experience discrimination and harassment when trying to seek shelter and housing assistance (National Center for Transgender Equality).
