The Ali Forney Center Supports Homeless LGBTQ+ Youth
The Ali Forney Center helps homeless LGBTQ+ youth.
Photo courtesy of aliforneycenter.org
When the coronavirus outbreak first hit New York City this past March, homeless shelters were immediately thrust into crisis. With their cramped environments that made social distancing impossible, many became prime locations for the virus to spread. The vulnerability of shelters was exacerbated by the fact that a large number of homeless New Yorkers already have underlying health conditions, as well as a lack of access to quality health care. In June, the Coalition for the Homeless found that the mortality rate for NYC’s sheltered individuals was 61% higher than the citywide mortality rate. A major contributing factor to this higher mortality rate is that people experiencing homelessness are less likely to have been tested for COVID-19.
Although many NYC shelters made the decision to close given these circumstances, one that chose to remain open is the Ali Forney Center (AFC), an organization dedicated to supporting and housing homeless LGBTQ+ youth in NYC. “We cannot close,” Mr. Alexander Roque, President and Executive Director of the Ali Forney Center, told the Riverdale Review. “We cannot have our young people call from home. We are their home.”
The AFC was founded in 2002 as a mere six cots in a church basement. Since then, it has grown into the nation’s largest and most comprehensive program for serving homeless LGBTQ+ youth, operating 18 housing sites around the five boroughs. Each year, the AFC helps almost 2,000 homeless, LGBTQ+ 16-24 year olds receive shelter, mental health support, and the resources that they need to build prosperous futures. Currently, nearly half of all homeless youth in NYC identify as LGBTQ+, many of whom were forced out of their homes by their families after coming out. In comparison to their heteroseuxal counterparts in the NYC homeless youth population, LGBTQ+ homeless youth experience greater levels of sexual assault, HIV infection, mental health issues, and substance abuse, making the work of organizations like the AFC all the more vital. LGBTQ+ homeless youth across the country are also disproportionately people of color: a 2014 study of human service providers serving homeless youth, for example, showed that African-American youth encompassed 31% of their clients, despite making up only 14% of the 2014 general youth population. 90% of LGBTQ+ youth at the Ali Forney Center are people of color, and the organization itself was named after a Black, gender-conforming youth who was murdered on the streets in 1997. Thus, at the AFC-which is minority-run-an overarching priority of all staff is to “center and prioritize Black lives in the work that we do,” Mr. Roque emphasized.
To care for its clients when the pandemic hit NYC in March, the AFC quickly sprung into action by creating a COVID-19 task force and temporarily moving its community outreach program online. “[Our priority has been] ensuring that we have everything possible to keep our staff and young people safe during this time,” Mr. Roque explained. “That means supplies, sanitation, meals . . . everything that a home does, but we have to do that 18 times, because we have 18 sites. We are essentially 18 families working across the city ensuring that all needs are being met.”
The coronavirus has not only taken its toll on the physical well-being of New Yorkers, but also their mental health. In New York City, for example, symptoms of anxiety and depression have significantly spiked among young people. This mental health crisis is particularly difficult for the LGBTQ+ youth whom the AFC supports. Many individuals who had moved out of the AFC’s shelters to attend college were forced by the pandemic to return “home,” where they were often unwelcomed by homophobic parents. Other AFC clients who had been trying to make it on their own lost their jobs and had no family to rely on. As Mr. Roque explained in a statement on the AFC website, “In many ways, this pandemic is re-traumatizing homeless youth, as they are reminded that even in the most uncertain time of our lives, they are not welcome at home because of their LGBTQ+ identity.” A primary focus of the AFC has been responding to increased levels of anxiety and depression amongst their clients by helping them “feel connected and not isolated.”
Throughout his time at the AFC, Mr. Roque identified one of the major misconceptions around homelessness as “all homeless people are homeless because they don’t have a home.” As Mr. Roque explained, “Most of our homeless young people are homeless not because they don’t have a home, but because there is homophobia and transphobia at home, and they don’t have acceptance. Also, some people are homeless because they don’t have the right mental health support, and the structure around the home feels problematic, while being on a train feels safer. When you think that all homeless people are homeless because they don’t have a home, you immediately just want to give food and provide shelter, when the reality is that having conversations around mental health is also incredibly important.”
Currently, the AFC is seeking both monetary contributions and donations including socks, underwear, and gift cards to places like McDonalds and Dunkin’ Donuts. One of the most pivotal ways in which community members can support the AFC’s work during these difficult times, Mr. Roque emphasized, is by “telling the Ali Forney Center’s story on social media and helping to raise awareness about the issue of LGBTQ+ youth homelessness. Many people don’t really think that kids are being kicked out of their homes because of their identity, so helping to share this issue with others is extremely important.”
As fall fades into winter and the city prepares itself for a potential second surge of the coronavirus, consider the ways in which you can aid NYC’s growing homeless population. From offering food and money to supporting organizations like the Ali Forney Center, even small acts of kindness make more of an impact than you may realize.
