Cyndi Lauper to open a homeless shelter for LGBT youth

Cyndi Lauper, the ’80s icon who is best known for the hits “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and “Time After Time,” is opening a homeless shelter for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered youth in Harlem on September 1.

The 30-bed housing facility, called the True Colors Residence, is named after 1986’s “True Colors,” Lauper’s last single to reach the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

“In New York City, a very disproportionate number [up to 40 percent] of homeless youth identity as LGBT,” she wrote in a press release issued Thursday.

“Even more disturbing are reports that these young people often face discrimination and at times physical assault in some of the very places they have to go for help. This is shocking and inexcusable!”

Lauper, a longtime advocate for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community, was motivated to create the shelter because no such venue existed for homeless LGBT youth.

“Our primary goal is to provide a physically and emotionally safe and supportive environment that will empower our young residents to be the self-loving, happy, and successful individuals they were meant to be,” she added.