Ali Forney Center

Family Acceptance Project

If your child comes out to you as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered it can be a difficult time for you and your family. You may feel angry, confused, guilty or worried. You may feel overwhelmed.

The staff at the Ali Forney Center knows this is a difficult time for you and your child. The Ali Forney Center wants to help you keep on loving your child while you work things out. We will listen to you, provide you with information that may be helpful for you to understand what your child is going through, and help to keep communication open between you.

Call us at 212-206-0574
Monday through Friday, 10am - 6pm
Ask for the Family Acceptance Project.

New York City, June 15, 2006... On June, 16 the Ali Forney Center (AFC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth homeless services center, will launch a print and outdoor advertising campaign to ask a simple question: "Would you stop loving your child if you found out they were gay or lesbian?" The center is offering resources to families with questions or needing support if their child comes out or if they cannot provide a safe home environment.

Beginning June 16, dozens of telephone kiosk ads will appear in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx, followed by print ads in publications like the Caribbean Times, Hoy, Manhattan Times, Afro Times and New American Times. sending a strong message to parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth during Gay Pride Week in New York City. In addition, over 1000 subway ads will appear beginning June 26, the day of the annual LGBT Pride celebration and parade in New York City.

"This ad campaign speaks to a universal human experience, the love between a parent and a child," said Carl Siciliano, Executive Director of the Ali Forney Center, "Our goal is to address the rising rate of LGBT youth homelessness, particularly in communities of color," he continued.

"The Ali Forney Center has provided services to LGBT youth for over 4 years, but we need to offer parents a place to turn when they want assistance or simply need someone to talk to when their child comes out," Siciliano said. "Beginning this week, a message that there are people they can reach out to will appear in neighborhoods across New York City, from East Harlem to Morningside Heights, in Astoria and East Flatbush, we hope to reach millions of people with a thought-provoking but non-judgmental message," concluded Siciliano.

The Ali Forney Center was started in June of 2002 in response to the lack of safe shelter for LGBT youth in New York City. AFC is dedicated to promoting awareness of the plight of homeless LGBT youth in the United States with the goal of generating responses on local and national levels from government funders, foundations, and the LGBT community.

The campaign was created by Double Platinum, a full-service marketing communications agency that specializes in messaging related to the GLBT community and for the gay and lesbian market.

To interview Carl Siciliano, AFC staff or to obtain a sample ad or a full schedule of when and where the ads will run please contact cathy@rennacommunications.com.

The Ali Forney Center's mission is to help homeless LGBT youth be safe and become independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood. Too many of these youth are rejected by their families and the broader community, and are thus forced to survive on the streets, facing the dangers of violence, HIV infection and homophobia. AFC is committed to providing homeless LGBT youth with the services they need to thrive, including shelter, HIV prevention and vocational training. For more information go to www.aliforneycenter.org.