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The Ali Forney Center is the nation’s largest, longest running, and most comprehensive organization dedicated to protecting LGBTQ+ youth from homelessness and empowering them with the tools for self-determination. Each year, the center assists over 2,000 young adults, 95% of whom are people of color, primarily Black and Latino individuals. The center’s 24-hour drop-in programs are designed to help young people overcome the traumas of family rejection and homelessness through wraparound services, including on-site medical and mental health services, job readiness training, and educational programming.
“The work of this organization is very dear to my heart as a gay man and a New Yorker,” said APA President Petros Levounis, M.D., M.A. “The Ali Forney Center’s work is crucial as a gender-affirming and inclusive environment for our LGBTQ+ and unhoused brothers and sisters who are more susceptible to mental illness due to systemic barriers and discrimination. APA is honored to support the center in serving some of our most vulnerable populations, uplifting all of society as we do.”
In 2002, Carl Siciliano founded the Ali Forney Center in memory of Ali Forney, who was a homeless gender-nonconforming youth forced to live on the streets at the age of 13. Ali resorted to street work and drug use to survive while educating anyone they encountered about HIV prevention and safe sex. In December of 1997, when Ali was 22, they were murdered on the streets. Their tragic death called attention to the inhumane conditions for homeless LGBTQ+ youth in New York. Ali’s spirit lives on in the lives of the many young people served by the center.
“Homophobia, transphobia, and family rejection are all traumatic events for people, especially for youth, and this support and recognition are monumental for us. Our work is rooted in helping young people who have been rejected by their families with clinical and social services support to overcome the trauma of family rejection and homelessness,” said Alexander Roque, president and executive director of the Ali Forney Center. “We are deeply grateful for the generosity of APA’s Give Back Program. Furthermore, the opportunity to be recognized by APA beyond the financial support is also vital in helping to engage the greater clinical care community on this very important issue.”
Donations are still be accepted; meeting registrants can donate by logging into the Registration Resource Center and selecting “Upgrade.” APA matches donations dollar for dollar. ■
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