Ali Forney Center.
 
527 West 22nd St., 1st Floor, New York, New York 10011.
Ali Forney Center.
Housing for Homeless LGBT Youth.
Articles
Young, Gay, Homeless, Dead   New York Blade, November 30, 2007

The Advocate Features the Ali Forney Center   The Advocate, September 25, 2007

Ali Forney Puts Premium on Youth HIV Testing   Chelsea Now, September 21, 2007

Saving Our GLBT Homeless Youth   About.com, January 23, 2007

Building a Humane Model   Gay City News, September 28, 2006

Do We Reject our LGBT Children?   Advocate.com, June 29, 2006




Advocates Push for Homeless Youth Shelter
Gay City News, April 14, 2005


Gimme Shelter
Time Out New York, June 10-17, 2004


Hope for Homeless Youth
New York Blade, May 14, 2004

Homelessness and Hope: Building Safe Housing Alternates for Queer Youth
Gay City News, Vol. 2, Issue 49, December 4-10, 2003

Living on the Edge
New York Blade, February 21, 2003
Ali Forney Center in the News
Featured Article.

The Advocate features Ali Forney Center

Ali Forney Center featured by the Advocate.
Photographed by Christopher Lane on August 10 in New York City

From left:
Jama Shelton, Director of Housing
Julianna Velazquez, Client
Carl Siciliano, Executive Director
Manley Joseph, Client

Click here for the larger version

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

Saving Our GLBT Homeless Youth
Ramone Johnson, Guide to Gay Life at About.com

*
Download this poster:
in PDF Format.
Homelessness is an issue that's often swept under the rug. These days, even those with homes struggle to maintain shelter. Daily hustles leave little time to break and care for those whose fortune has already run dry.

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.

Carl Siciliano, founder and director of the Ali Forney Center. 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.


Return to Top of Page