Village Voice, April 26, 2005
Gay City News, Vol. 2, Issue 49, December 4-10, 2003
From left:
Jama Shelton, Director of Housing
Julianna Velazquez, Client
Carl Siciliano, Executive Director
Manley Joseph, Client
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The Ali Forney Center
YEAR FOUNDED: 2002
HEADQUARTERS: New York City
MISSION: To provide homeless LGBT youths, age 16-24, with the services they need to escape the streets and become independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood
ANNUAL BUDGET: $3.4 million
NUMBER OF STAFF: 50
INNOVATION: The center provides short- and long-term housing -- 32 beds in total, in six apartments -- plus free medical care, HIV testing, mental health services, showers, food, computer access, and job training and placement at its drop-in center in Chelsea.
IMPACT: Since the center's transitional housing program opened in 2006, seven kids have moved into their own residences. "The vast majority of rights that we've achieved in various cities and states as a community don't hit kids," says executive director Carl Siciliano. "So if a kid comes out and their parents refuse to support them, they're just in this really vulnerable state. We need to create a structure where kids can be housed and nurtured and supported from adolescence to adulthood if their parents refuse to do it."
RECENT WORK: Partnering with Carson Kressley on a program to provide kids with clothes suitable for job and school interviews
FUTURE GOALS: Making available 16 more beds by the end of the year; Siciliano would also like to put the financing together to start purchasing houses instead of continuing to rent apartments
Ramone Johnson, Guide to Gay Life at About.com
Some of us hand out dollars in passing; others sigh with frustration at the homeless who crowd our streets. Eventually, the images of the many homeless people meld into one common description: Middle-aged, soiled rags, unpleasant hygiene, and an air of hopelessness. However, few can process the thought of a homeless teen; teens that at first glance look like every other young person. They may be well groomed, well mannered and energetic.
They appear to have a destination--which they often do--but it's not to a home. And surprisingly enough, many of these homeless teens are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. According to The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, in collaboration with the National Coalition for the Homeless, 42 percent of the estimated 1.6 million homeless American youth are glbt, with a disproportionate number identifying as bisexual or transgender.
These homeless teens didn't lose their homes due to cutbacks or lay-offs or an unfortunate turn in the market; they are homeless because of their sexuality. Their parents turn violent or become terribly distant at the news of their child's sexuality, forcing many of these kids (some as young as 11) to live on the streets and care for themselves. They live in shelters or transitional housing. Too many of them turn to drugs and prostitution as a means to make a living.
Thinking back to your teen years... What was your biggest concern? For many of the glbt homeless, like the late Ali Forney, it was survival. Forney lived on the streets of New York City from the age of 13 until he was murdered at 22. It was in honor of him Carl Siciliano named The Ali Forney Center for GLBT homeless youth in 2002. Since then, Siciliano and his staff have created one of the most comprehensive centers for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender homeless kids. Siciliano invited me inside The Ali Forney Center to experience the world of glbt homelessness and to see what pioneers like himself are doing about it.
Join me inside The Ali Forney Center.