Pride Haven shelter received federal money, but more is needed for it to reopen

On Thursday, Kansas City’s only emergency overnight shelter for LGBTQ+ youth, Pride Haven, received the $400,000 earmarked back in 2022 on behalf of a Missouri representative. The funding allows Pride Haven to pay back the bank and other accounts, but it isn’t enough to open its doors.

“This evens us out. This basically gets our head to the surface of the water, with all of that accounts payable,” said CEO of Pride Haven, Patrick McLaughlin.

McLaughlin said the money was just enough to pay off money borrowed from a bank and to pay other parties who did maintenance and other work for the organization.

In 2022, U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri’s 5th Congressional district representative, was able to get the federal funds appropriated from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for Pride Haven, which gave Pride Haven the collateral to take out a line of credit to continue operating.

Since 2020, Pride Haven at 3109 Campbell Street has been a place where queer homeless youths between ages 18 and 24 could go to sleep, eat and find housing resources. In the 2022 fiscal year, Pride Haven provided nearly 150 LGBTQ+ homeless youth with housing, according to Pride Haven’s impact report.

At its inception, Pride Haven was able to operate with the help of COVID relief-und money and a three-year grant from the Hall Foundation.

In early October, the shelter had to close its doors due to lack of funding. As winter approaches, leaders say Pride Haven needs an additional $300,000 to reopen for six months.

McLaughlin said there are several fundraising events in the works and that Pride Haven is currently applying for more grants. Donations and fundraising events can be found on Pride Haven’s website and social media pages.