About the Ali Forney Day Center

The Ali Forney Day Center offers medical counseling and treatment, psychosocial evaluation, group therapy and activities. It is located on West 22nd Street in Chelsea, close to the Christopher Street Piers that have long been an unofficial nexus for LGBT youth in NYC. It is the only full time drop-in center for homeless LGBT youth in New York City.

In 2007, our HOPWA (Housing Opportunities for Persons Living with AIDS) grant was doubled from $300,000 to $600,000 per year, allowing the continued expansion of our services. In the past year, we have brought on additional Outreach and Case Management staff, clinical social workers and a Substance Abuse Counselor. We now offer free onsite primary medical care -- an essential service for our clients who arrive with no medical coverage -- and psychiatric services. The Day Center also includes an onsite legal clinic, and onsite HIV testing.

Measuring Success

With our strategic, accessible location and comprehensive services, the demand for AFC's services has exploded.

In the past year:

• More than 500 individual youth have come to our Day Center for help
• We have established relationships with more than 350 new clients
• 250 youth have found shelter in AFC housing, and hundreds of referrals have been provided for other emergency housing sites
• We served over 10,000 meals
• We facilitated 75 emergency hospitalizations for youth who came to us in medical or psychiatric crisis
• We provided care to more than 300 clients at our medical clinic
• More than 100 clients were evaluated and assisted by our psychiatrist

We have also made incredible progress in HIV awareness, prevention, testing and treatment -- a critical concern for the homeless LGBT youth population, in which HIV is spreading at an alarming rate. In the past year we have tested over 200 youth onsite at our Day Center, and have worked with over 50 youth known to be HIV positive, connecting them to primary medical care, housing, and appropriate support networks. No other service site in NYC has had comparable success with homeless LGBT youth in this capacity.

Our Work at Risk

AFC was informed recently that the Department of Health will end all HOPWA-funded outreach programs when the current contract period terminates in June 2009, with the funds transferred to create congregate housing. This decision is deeply unfortunate for AFC, as our Day Center operates with the sole support of the HOPWA contract of $600,000 per year. With this loss of funding, we will be faced with no choice but to suspend services and completely shut down the center.

The loss of the Day Center as a resource will be a devastating blow to the community, as The Ali Forney Center currently operates the only full time drop-in center for homeless youth in NYC.

A lack of funding continues to impact other centers for the homeless. The Metropolitan Community Church Marsha Johnson Drop-In Center in Harlem was recently forced to close for lack of financial support, and the Neutral Zone recently relocated their homeless LGBT drop-in center from Midtown to Harlem, where funding problems have forced the reduction of their days of service to one day per week.

The defunding of the Ali Forney Center's drop-in services would have a devastating effect on the lives of one of the city's most vulnerable and underserved populations. We face an epidemic: a recent census of the homeless youth of NYC found that more than 1000 identified as LGBT, and recent studies show that HIV is spreading more quickly among young Black and Latino men who have sex with men than among any other population.

For those of us who work, volunteer, or otherwise contribute to the work of the Ali Forney Center, to stop offering such a critically needed array of services to these endangered youths is inconceivable.