Lost-N-Found receiving national attention for work helping Atlanta’s LGBT homeless youth

An organization founded just a few years ago to help homeless LGBT youth in metro Atlanta continues to receive more national attention for its works.

Lost-N-Found was featured Tuesday on local TV station CBS 46 in a story about its ongoing fundraising efforts to open a new shelter. Co-founder Rick Westbrook also told the TV station that nonprofit has received approximately $10,000 in donations after a video of a young man in Georgia being kicked out of his home for being gay went viral.

More than $93,000 was donated to the 20-year-old, Daniel Pierce of Kennesaw, through the online giving campaign gofundme.com, and Pierce has been interviewed by such news organizations as the BBC and he also appeared on the Dr. Drew TV show. Pierce was also interviewed last week by WXIA TV in Atlanta. Pierce is being assisted by Lost-N-Found and after receiving the some $93,000 in donations, he asked all further donations be made to the organization.

Pierce posted to his gofundme.com site yesterday:

Thank you to everyone from around America and all over the world for your support in the past several days. This has been a rough time for me and I never imagined that so many people would show such overwhelming compassion and generosity.

It’s important for all of you to know that right now, what I need most is time to think and work through the next steps in my life. I have been working closely with Atlanta-based Lost-n-Found Youth to help figure out what’s next for me. Right now, I’m safe and definitely feel your love all around me. Thank you!

I’ve asked my friends to discontinue donations to the GoFundMe page, but if you would still like to give money and help the LGBTQ youth homeless crisis, please visit the Lost-n-Found Youth website at www.Lost-n-Found.org for more information on how you can make a difference for the many other kids in the world like me.

If you are a member of the news media, please email communications@lost-n-found.org. Their team has been generous with their time in helping me sort through the many requests I’m getting to share this story.

For now, I ask for your understanding that I really need some quiet time to take it all in and plan my future. Thank you so much for your love and support. It means the world to me.

Daniel

Lost-N-Found also is featured in the current issue of Rolling Stone.

In the interview with CBS 46, Westbrook explains how the organization is working to renovate a house leased to Lost-N-Found by Saint Mark University for $1 a year. In February, Westbrook said plans for the house was to make it into a large shelter for homeless youth to include 15-20 emergency shelter beds, transitional housing to include 18-20 beds, a drop-in center and also office space. The organization currently has a house that provides transitional housing for six to eight young people.

Lost-N-Found’s thrift store, where a drop-in center is also located, was also highlighted in the local TV coverage. The store opened in February and its sales help fund the work of helping homeless LGBT youth. Lost-N-Found is currently a volunteer-driven organization.

Check out the  CBS 46 clip here:
CBS46 News