Cyndi Lauper demands to see an end to LGBT youth living on streets
The singer doesn’t think enough attention is being paid to the issue of LGBT youth homelessness.
Cyndi Lauper has spoken out in support of homeless LGBT youth, claiming that too little is being done to tackle the issue.
The singer is well-known for her charity work with the LGBT community, opening a series of homeless shelters for gay and trans people across New York City.
In 2012, she launched The Forty to None Project aimed at empowering and advocating on behalf of homeless LGBT youth, and raising awareness of the problems they face.
However, she says that more still needs to be done to effectively combat the problem.
“We need to make these kids our priority now,” Lauper wrote in The Advocate.
“If we don’t, where will they be in five, 10, 20 years?”
Lauper added that while fewer than 7 percent of children in the US are LGBT, a shocking 40 percent of homeless youth identify as such.
Her True Colours Fund has organised ‘#40toNoneDay’ on April 27 to raise awareness of what she calls “an epidemic”.
“We all need to put our heads together to make sure these young people can get support wherever they go — and be themselves when they get there,” she wrote.
Lauper also wants to see more support across the US and cites and more emphasis placed on the issue during the upcoming election.
“People often think that because they don’t work at a homeless shelter, they don’t have a role to play,” she added.
“The reality is: everyone can make a difference.”
The pop icon had reason to celebrate at the weekend, after a musical she penned won big at the Olivier Awards.
Kinky Boots won Best New Musical, with Matt Henry picking up the award for Best Actor in a Musical.
Lauper later gave a special live performance of her hit ‘True Colours.”
The singer said she was moved by the support the musical has received from the British public.
