The Ali Forney Center promises that their doors don’t close. Not for the holidays, not for hurricanes—never.
The Ali Forney Center, the nation’s largest organization serving LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness, is tucked in midtown Manhattan. AFC provides a 24-hour drop-in space, offering young people a warm place to sleep, a hot meal, and access to doctors, therapists and career services—all under one roof.
“We serve young people who’ve been rejected from their families due to homophobia and transphobia and provide them with everything that they would need in order to build a life of their choosing,” said Zachary Cohen, deputy executive director of development at AFC.
The need for shelter and support for LGBTQ+ youth, Cohen says, is growing.
According to the Trevor Project’s 2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health showed, 28% of LGBTQ youth reported experiencing homelessness or housing instability at some point in their lives. These youth are two-to-four times likely to report depression, anxiety, self-harm, consider suicide, and attempt suicide compared to LGBTQ+ youth with stable housing.
Right now, AFC has a capacity of 200 beds across emergency housing and a two-year transitional housing program with 76 beds that serves youth ages 16 to 24. However, AFC has a 400-person waitlist, which demonstrates just how urgently services are needed.
In total, a young person might spend up to three years in the program, making the transition from drop-in space, to emergency housing, to independent living. Cohen notes, however, that the timeline depends on the needs of each individual.
In addition to housing and healthcare support, AFC offers career readiness programming to help youth prepare for and gain employment.
AFC is currently in the middle of a strategic planning process centered on one big goal: adding more beds, so fewer youth are left waiting.
“[We don’t want to] have young people on a waitlist to receive housing because once we’re able to provide housing, we’re seeing the impact be so dramatic in the success rates of these young people then finding independent living,” Cohen said. “Because of the population that we serve, they’re so often overlooked by their families, by the institutions that are supposed to [help] them that there’s not enough people sharing their stories.”
A Place at the Table, AFC’s annual fundraiser does exactly that: tell the stories of LGBTQ+ youth in need of support. The gala has become the central tool in raising money for AFC.
“This is one night that we gather key leaders, activists, philanthropists, [and] celebrities, for a really fabulous evening that focuses on the young people that we serve and the incredible support that we provide to them,” Cohen said.
This year, the event will be on May 7 at the Glass House on the west side of Manhattan. This year’s honorees include model and AFC alum GIA Love, actor Liev Schreiber, longtime supporter Taylor Schreiber, skincare brand Kiehl’s and its CEO John Reed, and the Midwestern Princess herself, Chappell Roan.
Beyond the honorees, A Place at the Table will have a silent auction where anyone in the world can participate. Although Cohen wouldn’t reveal what items would be up for grabs, he said they’re definitely worth a bid.
“So essentially, what everybody coming to the gala is doing, is they’re making sure that our young people have a place to be, they have a place to sleep, and they have a meal in their bellies,” Cohen said. “So we’re quite literally providing a place at the table for our young people.”
Cohen, who has been with the organization since June 2021, also has a personal reason to love the gala. He met his fiance there in 2022 while working the event. His fiance, a known actor, was there as a guest and their eyes met from across the room. Cohen said that he played it cool, pretending not to know who the man was when they met. Months later, Cohen’s sporting a ring.
“If you’re looking for love, this is the place to go,” he laughed. “Meeting someone who cares about homeless queer kids is a good sign that they’re worth dating.”
For those that cannot attend the event, the organization also runs a volunteer program, hosts other events throughout the year, and has a donate-to-feed program where individuals can raise money for meals served to a youth that costs $2.50. Supporters can also make monthly donations starting at $5 per month.
Cohen adds that his work never gets old. He says seeing young people with warm places to sleep and meals in their stomachs is something that “refills and recharges” him, especially on the days when the news feels heavy.
“When I read the news and I’m disheartened by whatever terrible things are happening in the world, there’s something really powerful about being part of a concrete effort to make the world a better place,” he said. “Whatever folks give to AFC, they get back threefold.”
