Portraits of NYC's Homeless LGBT
Youth.
by
Carl
Siciliano
There are 3,800 homeless youth
in NYC. About 40% - 1600 of them
- identify as LGBT. New York
City and State provide
only 250
youth shelter beds for them,
leaving the rest in the streets.
The young people you will meet
here are all homeless LGBT youth
on the streets without shelter.
We hope that by looking into
their eyes and hearing their
stories you are moved to join
us in our campaign for
additional City and State
funding. No one should be
forced to sleep on the streets
due to a lack of available
shelter beds.
Rasheed
December 30th, 2011
I grew up in Virginia with my Aunt and Uncle. Last year they made me leave the house the day I turned 18. I stayed with friends until I graduated from high school, then I hit the road.
I work the overnight shift in a burger restaurant in Chelsea. I sleep in the daytime at the Ali Forney drop-in center, or on the subways. I had my photo taken by the Chelsea Piers. That is where I sit in the morning when my shift ends while I'm waiting for the drop-in center to open. Sometimes I don't get to sleep much at all for a day or two; then everything starts to blend together.
I'm going to make this work for me in some shape, some form. I have dreams for myself.
Annabella
December 28th, 2011
I grew up in Puerto Rico in a small town. I used to walk to the beach and swim in the ocean.
Sometimes I think coming out wasn't a good decision. A lot of people abandoned me.
I came to New York last February. For a while I was staying with my boyfriend at his parents' apartment, but that didn't work out, They didn't like us being gay and they humiliated me.
When I go on job interviews I get discriminated against. Everyone says that I am too feminine.
My boyfriend and I have been sleeping on the subways, and in the subway stations. My boyfriend has been on the streets off and on for three years, since he was 16. He knows how to make it ok on the streets. At least I'm not by myself. I have five sandwiches in my bag for us to eat tonight.
The best thing about coming to New York was that I gained my pride. I never thought I'd be part of the gay community.
Dizzy
December 23rd, 2011
I grew up in Staten Island. I lived with my aunt, until she put me out three years ago.
I was sleeping on the front steps of a building in Staten Island until a few weeks ago, until it got too cold. Now I am riding the trains.
Last night I slept on the "1" train. It was allright. Maybe I got to sleep for four hours. I've been arrested and harrassed for sleeping on the trains, and I was almost robbed, so I feel like I have to try to sleep with one eye open.
The worst thing about being on the streets is the weather. You just feel hopeless, especially when you don't have the proper clothing.
I'm on the waiting list to get into the Ali Forney shelter. When I have a place to stay I hope to get back into school. I finished the 11th grade, but now it is pretty impossible to go to school when you don't have anywhere to stay.
Paris
December 21st, 2011
I grew up with my Mom in Brooklyn. I came out to her when I was 15. She wasn't happy with it. My friends told me it takes two years for your parents to get ok, but two years went by and she still wasn't ok.
She attached all the negative stigmas to being gay. Doing sex work, having AIDS. She was always saying I was going to get AIDS. I wasn't even sexually active! I didn't lose my virginity until this year. I began doing research on transitioning. When I told my Mom, she said "I gave birth to a boy, not a transvestite". She wasn't cool with it, and got more and more angry.
One day she said she was going to leave me. I thought she was joking, but three days later she packed up and moved. She told me I had to vacate the apartment that day, and left me $40. I was so shocked!
For the last six months I have been waiting for a shelter bed to open up. I walk all over the city at night until I get really tired, so I can hope to fall asleep on the subway. I try to sleep on the trains until the workers throw me out.
It feels horrible to live like this. You feel like you have nobody on your side. You think of your mom, and you think of someone always on your side. I try not to think about it because I'm like "Oh my God!". I try not to get down when so many people are already down on me. I try to be inspirational.
I'm going on job interviews, and am working on my music. I want the world to see who I really am. And when I get a lot of money I want to open a drop-in center for other kids.
Justin
December 19th, 2011
My parents passed away when I was fifteen. I moved in with my aunt in Brooklyn, but she was really conservative and couldn't accept me for who I am.
When I became homeless, I couch surfed, moving from one friend's couch to another, and then I stayed in abandoned buildings. Recently I was staying in Zuccotti Park. I was sleeping in a big tent with a bunch of other people. I was arrested when the police evicted Occupy Wall Street from the park.
Last night I spent the night sleeping on the steps of a church near Wall Street. I was with nine other kids. We have three dogs, Sue, Jen and Cheyenne; who make us feel safer; we feel safe enough to sleep because they bark when strangers come.
Samba
December 16th, 2011
I grew up in San Paolo, Brazil. Then my father was murdered, and my mother made me leave the country. She was afraid the same men would kill me. I never came out to my mother.
I moved to the US. I moved in with my older sister in the Bronx. I was doing ok; I got a job off the books in a department store. But when my sister found out I was gay, she put me out. She is very religious, and said I was going to the inferno (hell). She said she did not want her son to become gay like me.
Now I am staying on the "A" train. It is a long ride from the first stop to the last, so you can get more sleep on that line.
Sometimes I do sex work to get something to eat, or to get a place to spend the night. It is bad doing sex work, but you gotta do it, it's better than being out in the cold.
When I get a place to stay I want to get into a job training program. I want something better for me. It's hard sleeping on the trains a lot. You feel so alone. It is too hard.
Terrence
December 14th, 2011
I grew up in Foster Care in Greensboro, North Carolina. It got bad when people realized I was gay. The staff treated me horrible after that. They would make gay jokes about me, and tell me I was going to die of AIDS. You don't treat a 13 year old kid like that.
I have been on the streets for two years, in NYC on and off for a year. Recently I slept in a park in Chelsea, by a dog run next to the West Side Highway, where we took my picture. I was cold, scared, but it was pretty much the safest place I could think of. Between the cars and the cold I couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep.
I tried to committ suicide last summer. I was in a dark place. I feel a lot better now that I am back on my meds.
Being gay and having a mental illness is a double-whammy. They both hold you back. But I'm working with my case manager at Ali Forney to get into supportive housing for people with mental health issues.
TIFFANY
"LIFE" COCCO
December 12th, 2011
I grew up in East Harlem. Anything you think about the hood, that was my neighborhood. Drug dealing. Sirens all the time. I was the kid that got chased through my neighborhood.
I was 15 the first time I got kicked out of my house. My lowest point of trying to make it on the streets was three weeks ago. My girlfriend and I had to sleep on the roof of a building in the Bronx. It was raining cats and dogs. I let her sleep, and stayed awake to make sure we were safe.
I really want to be a writer, though first I will probably do something with my food handler's license to get on my feet. But definitely, when I retire, then I will write.
Gisele
December 9th, 2011
I
"escort". I have
to jump in and
out of cars to
get food and a
few dollars to
rent a room.
When it
started raining
and getting
colder I had to
do more stuff I
didn't want to
do just to get a
place to sleep
for a couple of
hours. I've been
abused and
attacked in the
streets.
I try to
be bubbly and
joke, but it is
really hard when
you are hungry
and don't get
any sleep. I
remember one
night I was
trying to sleep
in the piers.
But I was just
crying and
crying all
night, wishing
God could just
take me out of
this.
Last
night was crazy.
I was staying in
an apartment
with four other
kids. One of
them was crazy;
he attacked me,
dragged me out
in the hall,
punching me in
the face,
pushing me into
doors. He pushed
me down the
stairs. I cannot
go back there. I
cannot be his
punching bag. I
was so upset and
stressed that I
broke out in
hives.
I need a
change. I cannot
go on like this
much longer.
Connor
December 7th, 2011
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I grew
up in New Jersey
with my dad and
my step mom. I
came out when I
was 14. They
tried to act
like it was ok,
but I could tell
it wasn't with
my step mom. I
heard her tell
my Dad that I
was going to
rape her son.
Why would
she think that?
I
started using
drugs when I was
15. I got badly
addicted. I
guess to escape
the reality I
was living,
which was
unbearable. I
haven't been
home since I was
15, for the last
four years I
have been in
group homes,
drug treatment
facilities, the
streets.
Last
night I rode the
trains and then
slept in Penn
Station. It was
kind of scary
and I was afraid
of being robbed,
but I am
so thankful I
was inside where
it was warm. A
lot of homeless
people were
trying to sleep
there. The
police kicked
out a lot of
the people
trying to sleep.
I am thankful I
looked good
enough to be a
customer waiting
for a train. The
police left me
alone.
I want
to go to college
and double major
in psychology
and political
science. When I
am on my feet I
want to do
advocacy for
people that are
mentally ill.
ENVY
December 6th, 2011
When I was eleven, my father
demanded to know if I was gay.
When I said yes, he reacted
horribly. He wouldn't talk to me
for three years. My mother says
mean things. I'm the child she
didn't want. I left home because
I felt I didn't belong. I've
been leaving since I was
eleven. Right now I've been on
the streets for two months.
I was staying in Zuccotti Park
with Occupy Wall Street. Since the eviction
I've been staying in churches
that have opened to the OWS
people. Last night I slept on
the floor of a church in Harlem.
They woke us up extremely early.
I usually only get three to five
hours of sleep a night, and that
isn't enough, you know.
I feel like I shouldn't be going
through this, but it's going to
make me stronger.
I hope to get into a GED course
real soon. When I get my diploma
I want to join the Air Force so
I can have a way to pay for
college
The Campaign for
Youth Shelter is
calling on City
and State
elected
officials to
commit to a plan
to provide
shelter for
every homeless
youth. For more
information, and
ways you can
take action,
click here.
Click here for an essay by Carl Siciliano about this project.
Click here for an essay by Carl Siciliano about this project.
Click
here
to make a
donation to the
Ali Forney
Center to
support these
youths and
others with
similar stories
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