Ali Forney Center, The

The Ali Forney Center (AFC) is a New York City organization founded by Carl Siciliano in June 2002. It is the largest program in the United States dedicated to LGBTQ+ young people experiencing homelessness. The center is named for Ali Forney, a gender-nonconforming youth who was murdered in New York in 1997 after years without stable housing. Each year AFC serves thousands of young people through emergency shelter, a drop-in center, medical and mental health care, and transitional housing. In 2015 it broke ground on the Bea Arthur Residence, funded in part by a bequest from the actress Bea Arthur. The center exists because many LGBTQ+ youth are pushed out of their homes after coming out.