Cyndi Lauper Goes to
Washington to Help End LGBT Homelessness
"True Colors” star Cyndi
Lauper wants to be “a voice for homeless youth” who have been
“disenfranchised from life” because of their sexual identity, she said during a
visit to Capitol Hill today.
The "Girls Just Wanna
Have Fun” singer -- who left home at age 17 after
her stepfather allegedly threatened to rape her and her sister -- told
lawmakers she was moved by the plight of New York City’s homeless LGBT youth.
“Basically, the kids come
out and they get thrown out,” Lauper said at a Senate Appropriations Committee
hearing on youth homelessness, chaired by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. “Truth
is, they didn’t choose their identity. You know, it’s like you choosing the
color of your eyes. You know, you’re born that way.”
"Listening to these
stories, it changed me,” she added. “Maybe there’s something I can do besides
just being a famous person and singing to them.”
Lauper, 61, founded the “True Colors Fund” in 2008 to end gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender homelessness.
Though LGBT children make
up only 7 percent of the youth population, they represent about 40 percent of
all homeless youth in America, she said today.
Through research in
partnership with various organizations, the Fund has identified these homeless
youth need “the same thing that any grownup would need” – housing, education
and job training, social/emotional well-being, and “permanent connections that
provide stability."
But Lauper said her
ultimate goal is preventing LGBT youth homelessness entirely.
And today, she urged
parents who may be uncomfortable with their children’s sexual identity to
practice tolerance.
“If it’s a faith issue, I
implore you not to pray to God to change your kid,” she said. “Pray to God to
change your heart."
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