We deal with a twofold tragedy every day at the Ali Forney Center. The
first part is that hundreds of thousands of parents drive their children
from their homes because they cannot accept having an LGBT child. The
second part is that fewer than one tenth of homeless kids in this
country can access a youth shelter bed. Hundreds of thousands of
terrified, devastated kids are out on the streets tonight with nowhere
safe to lay their heads.
Recently I met a girl in Minneapolis who told me about being out on the
streets at 16 in the frozen Minnesota winter. She found a bus driver who
would allow her to ride the city bus all night. But one night when he
was off duty and she didn't have the bus fare, she shivered in the snow,
fearing she would die in the cold. Another boy told me of being thrown
out of his home in a suburb of Atlanta by a homophobic aunt. Having
nowhere to go, he spent three days and nights in the woods near his
house, with no food or water, crying and terrified and wanting to die.
Finally he staggered out onto a sidewalk and collapsed of dehydration
and was hospitalized.
Many kids turn to prostitution, having no other way to support
themselves. Deon became homeless in Houston when he was 15. He also rode
the buses all night, and would shower in the morning at a friend's
house before heading to school. One night he was propositioned while
waiting for the bus, and was offered money for sex. Deeply exhausted
from his long nights on the bus, he reluctantly accepted. He told me
that he felt so ashamed and humiliated by the experience, that he spent
over an hour in the shower at his friends house that morning. He was
weeping uncontrollably and didn't want anyone to see him like that. Deon
lives with us now. Yesterday he told me that at his job at H&M
clothing store, he has a portion of his income taken out of each
paycheck. He uses this money to sponsor an orphan in Zimbabwe. He was
beaming with pride when he told me this. I am more proud of him than I
know how to say.
At the Ali Forney Center we respond to LGBT kids in the most horrifying
situations imaginable. We respond with food and shelter, with job
training and medical care. We work with kids from all over the country.
Last year we cared for over 1,000 kids. As important as it is to house
and feed these kids, it is just as important to affirm their basic human
worth as LGBT people. It is important to show that they belong to our
community, that they are valued and loved.
This Thanksgiving I am thankful for the kids who live with us, that they
can have the opportunity to be healed of their terrible wounds. And I
am thankful for the community of support that allows us to do this
beautiful work. I am especially thankful to Joe and the JoeMyGod
community for standing by us year after year. I am especially thankful
for the amazing support we received last year when Hurricane Sandy
destroyed our drop-in center.
I ask you to consider supporting our kids at this time. We have 200 kids
on the waiting list for our shelters tonight, and have to rely on the
support of the community in this time of sequestration and government
cutbacks. Donations can be sent to us by mail at: Ali Forney Center, 224
West 35th Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10001. Donations can be
made online here.
