about lost-n-found youth

Lost-n-Found Youth is an Atlanta-based nonprofit that exists to end homelessness for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ+) and all sexual minority youth.

 Our Mission

To end homelessness for all LGBTQ+ youth by providing them with
the skills and support needed to live independently.

Our Vision

We envision a world where all youth feel safe and supported to live and love authentically.

OUr Story

Lost-n-Found Youth was started by a group of local Atlanta activists. They were turned away when attempting to place queer youth into local shelters and youth aid programs, and resolved that something needed to be done to address the immediate need.

They called a public town hall meeting and invited these local unhoused youth support agencies to express outrage and determine what resources existed. The meeting made clear that no organization was specifically actively working to take unhoused LGBTQ+ youth off the street. The group assembled in November 2011 to establish a privately funded emergency shelter, and the Saint Lost and Found project (now Lost-n-Found Youth, Inc.) was born.

Lost-N-Found Youth Executive Team

Melanea Alvarez

Executive Director

Melanea is originally from OH-IO, the Buckeye state. She relocated to Georgia in 2014 when she accepted a senior HR leadership role with a local financial institution. Throughout her career, Melanea has held leading roles with fortune 500 consulting firms spearheading global and domestic client engagements across various industries. Her expertise is in HR Transformation with a keen sense for business development, operational excellence, strategic planning, and technology. Prior to becoming the executive director for the Atlanta nonprofit, Melanea was a highly active volunteer for the organization, later becoming a board member and ultimately the board chair for two consecutive terms. Melanea wears many hats and leaves no stone unturned when it comes to supporting youth and community, she is passionate about giving youth choices and resources to help build their future so they may live independently.

Neena Beausoleil

Director of Programs

Before her role as Director of Programs at Lost-n-Found Youth, Neena Beausoleil was a devoted advocate for houseless youth in Los Angeles for nearly a decade. As program manager at Youth Emerging Stronger, (formerly the LA Youth Network) Neena helped develop and manage a six-bed Runaway Homeless Youth shelter for minors. In expanding the mission of the agency, she helped secure grant funding, development, and management of a twenty-three bed Transitional Living Program with scattered site apartments aimed at promoting self-sufficiency for young adults ages 18-25 years in the Hollywood area. 

Notable achievements include the successful transition of more than 70% of young adult clients into permanency and into their own apartments and the provision of a Safe Space for 40% of LGBTQIA+ young adults enrolled in the program. Neena helped develop holistic program tracks to promote successful case planning that builds on the strengths of the individual. Neena is committed to the highest standards of service provision and was influential in the successful national accreditation (CARF) of her previous agency’s housing program. 

Neena has extensive experience working with LGBTQIA+ and at-risk houseless young adult populations. Neena believes that a trauma-informed care approach helps young adults achieve their goals while working towards self-sufficiency. Neena’s favorite time spent with her client’s is teaching and demonstrating to them important life skills. 

Obtaining her MSW in 2006, Neena has worked in several capacities as a social worker including foster care and adoptions, community service programs, counseling, and outreach services.In her personal time Neena loves to spend time with family, try new cooking recipes and travel to beaches and hiking trails. She is passionate about women’s, immigrant and LGBTQIA+ rights and equality.

2024 Lost-n-found Youth Board of Directors:

  • 2024 Board Chair

    Kevin is the Director Community Care Foundation for Delta Dental

  • 2024 Vice Chair

    Carey is the Digital Teammate Experience for Truist Financial Corporation

  • 2024 Board Governance Chair

    Roger Rutkowski moved to the USA in 2017 from the United Kingdom and is currently Head of Legal Operations for Mercedes-Benz USA. In the UK Roger was National Records Manager for AECOM for 7 years and then Head of Information Governance for The British Land Company for 10 years as well as Patron for The Albert Kennedy Trust and Co-Chair for Building Pride the LGBT group for Property.

    In 2021 Roger founded the Atlanta Socializers Club which has grown to over 3k members in midtown and we meets regularly to raise money for Lost-n-Found Youth.

  • Ex-Officio

    Melanea is the current executive director of Lost-n-Found Youth

  • Director

    Taylor Lauren Miller serves as a Board Member for Lost-n-Found Youth to ensure all unhoused LGBTQ+ youth in Atlanta have the services they need to thrive and a home where they belong.

    Taylor began as an Internal Compliance Analyst nine years ago at ADP, and quickly realized her passion for information security. She took on the responsibility of Local Business Security Champion two years later – managing security incidents from identification to remediation. In 2019, she was promoted to Business Security Analyst, to serve as the first dedicated security champion for National Accounts (NAS) laying the foundation for the new NAS security team; responsible for evolving the business and fraud incident processes, counseling teams across the business in accordance with current security frameworks and ADP best-practices, partnering with the Global Security Organization to ensure rapid resolution of high-impact incidents, designing the security awareness program, and coordinating with the data team to drive executive reporting automation. In 2021, Taylor was promoted to Information Security Lead Project/Program Manager for a growing Security, Compliance, Business Resiliency, Risk, and Privacy team where she leads the Security team to design and drive the defense-in-depth strategy for National Accounts.

  • Director

    Patrick is a Scientist/Director, Business Development for Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp.

    A native of the state, Patrick grew up in Dalton, Georgia about 90 miles north of Atlanta. After developing a love for science at an early age, he went on to earn a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Georgia. A fascination in biomedical research then led him to the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, Louisiana where he earned a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Raber focused his time there on cancer research to better understand the mechanisms of immune system suppression by solid tumors and methods to optimize adoptive cellular immunotherapies. Following grad school, Patrick joined a Seattle-based biotechnology startup, Adaptive Biotechnologies, helping to grow the company and becoming a global subject matter expert in the field of immunosequencing and immunogenetics. Dr. Raber eventually transitioned into the business of science and now leads a business development that partners with major pharma and biotech companies world-wide. He first became aware of Lost-n-Found Youth after moving to Atlanta in 2015 initially supporting the organization through thrift store donations and charity events and was invited to join the Board of Directors in 2022. Patrick currently lives in Midtown Atlanta with his partner Paul. They enjoy traveling, hiking, and exploring their diverse and dynamic Atlanta community.

  • Director

    Dr. Donald W. Smith was first trained in studio arts and art history. He then studied psychology and graduated from Georgia State University with a doctorate in Clinical Psychology in 1977. He became a Licensed Psychologist in1978.

    Dr. Smith taught undergraduate psychology classes at GSU and then he worked for 34 years in GA State mental health hospitals and state institutions for individuals with developmental disabilities. As part of his duties, Dr. Smith taught HIV/AIDS prevention.

    Dr. Smith worked over 20 years as a volunteer with Atlanta LGBTQ+ and AIDS organizations in both direct services, education, advocacy and leadership. Since retiring in 2011, Dr. Smith has continued providing training for HIV/AIDS services organizations regarding the impact of developmental trauma on increasing risk for physical, psychological and social problems later in life.

    Dr. Smith first became involved with LNFY as a volunteer conducting expressive art classes for clients.using his extensive training in studio arts and art history. He joined the Board of LNFY in 2022 and continues using expressive arts with clients.

  • Director

 Our funding reflects the generosity of our community and we are committed to using donor dollars wisely in order to provide the best for our clients.

Lost-n-Found Youth is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit corporation that secures support and funding for Atlanta’s houseless LGBTQ+ youth.

find us in the news

Lost-n-Found Youth has been featured in various media outlets, highlighting our dedicated efforts to provide shelter, resources, and support to those in need.