EDGE on the Net

Comedian Tracy Morgan on Friday, June 17, met with homeless LGBT youth and the mother of a 20-year-old gay man who died in an anti-gay attack in 2007.

Panelists at a forum at the LGBT Community Center in lower Manhattan on Tuesday, May 3, discussed whether LGBT organizations have done enough to advocate on behalf of homeless LGBT youth.

Carl Siciliano, executive director of the Ali Forney Center, concludes the LGBT movement has not done enough to protect homeless and vulnerable LGBT youth.

New York state lawmakers adopted a rare on-time budget early on Thursday, March 31; but the Ali Forney Center’s Carl Siciliano said the 50 percent cut to runaway and homeless youth programs could leave hundreds of homeless young people with no place to go.

More than 70 activists and homeless youth traveled to Albany on Tuesday, March 15, to urge Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers to restore funding for runaway and homeless youth services.

Immigrant youth face even more challenges than others, but immigrant gay youth have a much greater change of being thrown out of their homes. In New York, there are thousands of them on the streets every night.

Carl Siciliano, executive director of the Ali Forney Center, said Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed budget would disproportionately affect homeless LGBT youth because it would eliminate 37 of the city’s 108 youth shelter beds.

More than 100 elected officials and activists gathered on the steps of City Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 21, to protest Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to slash funding of the city’s homeless youth programs by 50 percent.

Advocates for homeless LGBT youth remain outraged over New York City’s plan to slash funding for drop-in shelters and street outreach initiatives by 50 percent.

David Hansell, assistant secretary of the Administration for Children and Families for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, toured the Ali Forney Center’s West Chelsea facility on Friday, Oct. 29, as part of his agency’s efforts on behalf of homeless LGBT youth.