For many LGBTQ+ youth in San Antonio, home is not guaranteed. More than 1,500 have experienced homelessness in the past year after being pushed out by family, shut out of housing, or aged out of foster care. Now Thrive Youth Center is looking to build a place they belong in.

The nonprofit and the San Antonio Housing Trust Foundation announced plans to build Thrive Vecindad, a transitional West Side community that will offer affordable, safe housing for up to 25 18-to-24-year-olds.

LGBTQ+ young adults, especially transgender youth, are particularly vulnerable to housing instability. Many who go unsheltered are at risk of trauma, exploitation, or mental health struggles. Those who don't end up on the streets often cycle through temporary, unstable living situations with extended family, friends, or romantic partners while they figure out long-term housing solutions, according to a city task force. At Thrive alone, 107 young adults served by the nonprofit have aged out of foster care, and seven to 10 individuals sit on the waitlist for an emergency shelter bed at any given time.

Thrive Vecindad will offer supportive services, including case management, educational support, workforce development opportunities, mental health resources, and pathways to permanent housing. Tenants can stay in place for two to three years — significantly longer than what emergency shelters allow.

The planned community in the 1600 block of Buena Vista Street will consist of two historic homes, which will undergo restoration by the housing trust. The foundation will also build a nearby third house, and a fourth structure will serve as a community center. The houses will feature shared living rooms and bathrooms, while the community center will have a shared kitchen, a library, and other basic critical resources.

Last March, Thrive announced it was increasing its emergency shelter bed capacity at Haven for Hope from 16 to 20 beds — a move that created an additional 1,460 nights of safe shelter for unhoused LGBTQ+ youths. But the organization says that temporary sheltering has always been a stopgap. Thrive has long seen a need to develop a neighborhood-like campus for at-risk youth.

The San Antonio Housing Trust, which focuses on building or preserving affordable housing in underserved areas, originally acquired the Buena Vista Street properties in spring 2025 with a goal of working with a local nonprofit that offers a vulnerable population short-term, supportive housing.

Housing trust officials said projects like Thrive Vecindad fit into city leaders' long-range goal of filling gaps in San Antonio's affordable housing supply. The task force has an objective to add 100 supportive homes citywide for LGBTQ+ youth who struggle with safe housing. After Thrive and the housing trust meet a $10 million fundraising goal, the two organizations hope to break ground in late 2027 and finish construction by late 2028 or early 2029.

"This partnership marks a transformational step forward in addressing the housing needs of LGBTQ youth in our community," Justin Holley, Thrive's executive director, said in a statement. "Far too many young people face homelessness simply because of who they are. Together with the San Antonio Housing Trust Foundation, we are creating a model of care and housing that provides not only shelter, but stability, dignity and opportunity."