Welcome to Michaeljohn Horne Thomas Eugene Jones Youth Housing

At Last, A Home to Call Their Own

Youth Are Building Their Lives Inside the Michaeljohn Horne & Thomas Eugene Jones Youth Housing

Robert had been experiencing homelessness since the age of 16, including time spent living on downtown Los Angeles’ Skid Row.

Now 21, he has begun a new chapter in his life as one of the first residents of the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s newly-opened Michaeljohn Horne & Thomas Eugene Jones Youth Housing in Hollywood. Before move-in day in April, Robert visualizedwhateverydaylifemightbe like at the four-story structure located on McCadden Place.

“I had this dream I was in there, and I’m cooking, studying, watching my videos,” he said. “I now have a roof over my head, someplace I can go home to lie down, shower, and relax. I am blessed.”

The nearly 13,000-square-foot youth housing includes 25 supportive-housing apartments for young people ages 24 and under. It is located directly across the street from the Center’s flagship Anita May Rosenstein Campus and next door to the Center’s The Village at Ed Gould Plaza.

Ranging from 279 to 329 square feet, these microunits are the first to be designed for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. The indoor community space includes a case management office to help the residents gain accesstotheCenter’swraparoundprograms and services, including case management; education; employment training and placement; health and mental health care; food and clothing assistance; counseling and support groups; and activities and events.

The housing units combine rental assistance with individualized, flexible, and voluntary support services for youth. Housing Stabilizer Abel Tovar, from theCenter’sChildren,Youth&Family Services Department, says this is an opportunity for residents to start building the next steps of their lives’ foundation.

“A lot of them have experienced many struggles in life,” Tovar explained. “Some

of them have been in the child welfare system for many years before becoming homeless. They were discriminated against or kicked out of their homes because they’re part of the LGBT community. Many of them have not felt like they’ve had a real home so this will be their first opportunity

• CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES' ABEL TOVAR

• THE 13,000-SQUARE-FOOT, FOUR-STORY YOUTH HOUSING INCLUDES 25 SUPPORTIVE-HOUSING UNITS AND A COMMUNITY ROOM AND COMPUTER LAB ON THE GROUND FLOOR.

I now have a roof over my head, someplace I can go home to lie down, shower, and relax. I am blessed.

to say: ‘This is my home.’”

Kay, another one of the first residents, had been experiencing homelessness since aging out of foster care at 18.

“I don’t really have the best relationship with my family. You’re in a position where you’re unsupported. I have had to be strong for myself,” Kay said. “Being able to have my own place, it’s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Now, I’m looking forward to the best possible things that can happen.”

A Virtual Grand Opening

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic prevented the Center from organizing an in-person community celebration of the youth housing. There were no rainbow balloons and ribbon-cutting ceremony, akin to the Campus’ grand opening in 2019. Instead, charismatic YouTube star and Center supporter Mac Kahey (a.k.a. MacDoesIt) hosted a virtual grand opening that streamed live across the Center’s social media platforms. The 21-minute event included a live tour of the 600-square-foot indoor community space located on the first floor with a communal kitchen, a television, and a computer lab; one of the furnished units located on the fourth floor; and the outdoor space designed with landscaped areas and pathways.

“We usually would be having a big party. People would be on the street having fun, the mayor would come out and say stuff,” Kahey explained on camera to the virtual world. “But Miss Pandemic is still out there running live and running wild so we’re doing this virtually. It has taken an entire community to make this building happen!”

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, indeed, made an appearance with a pre-recorded message. He described the opening as “an inspiring chapter in the work of providing safe, clean, and secure permanent housing to our city’s most vulnerable.”

Center CEO Lorri L. Jean lauded the occasion, also in a pre-recorded video, as the day “we rightfully celebrate the vision, passion, and hard work it took to get to this auspicious opening day and the way these homes will literally change the lives of the residents.”

“But at the same time,” she added, “we know that this project is not enough. There are thousands more youth in our community who still face the burdens of homelessness and all of its challenges: employment, food insecurity, mental health issues. Today at least we are making a dent in those problems. This building is a model for how we can start to better meet all of their needs.”

The Two Men Who Stepped Up

Jean praised all of those involved, including the Center’s affordable housing development partner Thomas Safran & Associates (TSA), for completing the housing during a global pandemic.

“This project is one of the most important and significant developments in our company’s history,” said TSA President Jordan Pynes. “This project is important to us because it provides housing and services and creates a one-of-a-kind campus for the LGBTQ community.”

Jean also paid special tribute to Michaeljohn Horne and Thomas Eugene Jones, the couple for whom the building is named.

“Every day the young people in this building will see the names of two proud and successful gay men who generously gave back to their community,” she said. “That is a powerful and important message, not only for youth, but for all of us.”

In pre-recorded remarks, Jones lauded the building’s beauty and said he imagines all of the new opportunities for the young residents.

“That’s all I can think about,” he said. “I’m filled with hope for them. To be part of it is special.”

Horne added: “We watched the building go up—that was amazing! It really fills our hearts to walk through the building and realize we are sort of the spark of hope for young people.”

• (LEFT, RIGHT) MICHAELJOHN HORNE & THOMAS EUGENE JONES YOUTH HOUSING; (MIDDLE) CENTER CEO LORRI L. JEAN WITH TSA PRESIDENT JORDAN PYNES; (BOTTOM) MICHAELJOHN HORNE & THOMAS EUGENE JONES

This project is important to us because it provides housing and services and creates a one-of-akind campus for the LGBTQ community.

It really fills our hearts to walk through the building and realize we are sort of the spark of hope for young people.

The Ariadne Getty Foundation Senior Housing Nears Completion

Nearly 33,000 Square Feet to Support Senior Residents

Among the new high-rise construction projects sprouting in Hollywood is the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Ariadne Getty Foundation Senior Housing, the final cornerstone to complete the revolutionary Anita May Rosenstein Campus. Soaring five stories tall on Las Palmas Avenue, one block east of McCadden Place, the nearly 33,000square-foot senior housing has been under construction for more than two years—its grand opening stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet, as California fully reopens following the pandemic, a new dawn is rising from the construction dust. Affordable housing developer Thomas Safran & Associates, which partnered with the Center to build the senior housing, reports that the modern edifice is 98 percent complete! Once the senior housing passes its mandatory inspections, the first batch of residents may be able to move in sometime in July.

“Our new residents are more than ready to move in!” said Senior Services Director Kiera Pollock.“Formonths,theywere forced to quarantine inside their current homes and avoid all social in-person interactions with their friends and relatives. But, our seniors are a resilient group, and we can’t wait to hand over the keys to their new home!”

The Ariadne Getty Foundation Senior Housing, sprawling across nearly three-quarters of an acre, includes a community room with dining facilities, communal kitchen, and fitness center on the ground floor. The dining hall’s floor-toceiling windows overlook a welldesigned outdoor courtyard with landscaped areas and pathways. From the courtyard, residents will have direct access to the Center’s Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Senior Center where they can attend more than 100 monthly free or lowcost activities, including wellness workshops and LGBTQ social and cultural events.

When the housing lottery opened in March 2020, a whopping 1,200plus people applied to secure one of the coveted units. The apartments combine rental assistance with individualized, flexible, and voluntary support services for seniors. Of the 98 units, 19 are studios; 75 are one-bedrooms; 4 are twobedrooms. (One of the units will be occupied by the on-site residential manager.) All of the apartments, ranging from 379 to 954 square feet, will include luxury vinyl flooring, and new kitchen appliances.