[NEWS] LGBTQ-friendly housing for young adults breaks ground in Philly

From WHYY: 

Jessica Keel has experienced almost every kind of homelessness.

She’s couch-surfed at relatives’ homes, she’s drifted in and out of group homes, and then there were times when things got really bad.

“There were very down times when it was like, ‘How am I going to make it out of this? Where am I going to sleep tonight?’ There were instances where I slept on a step,” said Keel, 23, a student at Community College of Philadelphia.

Keel identifies as LGBTQ, which comes with a unique set of challenges.

“We have different struggles in regards to just being comfortable in your own skin … just because you’re afraid to be who you are,” she said.

Keel symbolizes why Wednesday’s groundbreaking of the first LGBTQ-friendly, young adult housing project in Pennsylvania is so important.