[NEWS] Six LGBT units part of new affordable housing in Chinatown
From the Philadelphia Gay News:Â
Joseph Hill-Coles was born to a drug-addicted mother in Philadelphia and entered the foster-care system at the age of 3. Although he was adopted by a single mother when he was 10, he said he was an angry kid. He got kicked out of several schools before being arrested at 17.
“When I got out, it was all about survival,” Hill-Coles said. “I house-hopped until I wore out my welcome.”
He shared his struggles of living on the streets and sleeping in Love Park with nearly 100 people gathered May 4 in Chinatown for the opening of Francis House of Peace, an affordable-housing complex for formerly homeless and low-income people at 810 Arch St. The nine-story building, named for Pope Francis, has retail space and 94 units. Six are dedicated to LGBT residents and three of them are still available.
Project HOME spearheaded the building in collaboration with the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation and the Middleton Partnership. It’s the first LGBT-friendly space that Project HOME and Middleton Partnership have developed in their five years working together.
