D.C.’s Pride Month came and went but service providers and LGBTQ+ young people hope those feelings of community and acceptance can continue year-round.

Roughly 18% of D.C.’s adults experiencing homelessness but who are unsheltered are LGBTQ+, officials said at the shelter’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.

“We’ll get them to wherever they want to go, but if they can exist in that safety, and that affirming space, we’re doing our jobs.”

After coming out to family and friends when he was 19, Fosque says he was kicked out of his oldest brother’s home, where he was staying at the time.