A New York
City center for homeless and at-risk LGBT youth is
facing a major budget cut at the direction of the city
government. The Ali Forney Center, which shelters and
provides services to vulnerable kids, may lose
$600,000 in funding next year because the city's
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is discontinuing
such outreach contracts.
A New York City
center for homeless and at-risk LGBT youth is facing a
major budget cut at the direction of the city government.
The Ali Forney Center, which shelters and provides
services to vulnerable kids, may lose $600,000 in
funding next year because the city's Department of Health
and Mental Hygiene is discontinuing such outreach
contracts. The center's drop-in center is funded
entirely by the contract, which is provided through
the federal Housing Opportunities for People With AIDS
(HOPWA) program but administered by the health
department.
City, state, and
federal politicians, led by Democratic U.S.
congressman Jerrold Nadler, who represents parts of Brooklyn
and Manhattan's Upper West Side, called on Mayor
Michael Bloomberg to restore the funding.
Said Nadler at a
press conference on Tuesday: "For these HOPWA funds to
be discontinued before other sources were identified is
irresponsible. New York City’s HIV infections
among gay boys and men aged 13-29 increased by 33%
from 2001 to 2006. Nearly four out of five new
infections are among Latinos and African-Americans. Hence,
there is a great need for ongoing outreach and
preventative services for Ali Forney’s hundreds
of clients."
Nadler was joined
at the event by Manhattan borough president Scott
Stringer, state senator Tom Duane, assembly members Dick
Gottfried and Deborah Glick, and Ali Forney executive
director Carl Siciliano. The elected officials
present, along with city council speaker Christine
Quinn and two council members, have sent a letter to
Bloomberg asking that "this mistake be remedied,"
Nadler said, adding: "We must all work together -- the
city, elected officials, and advocates -- to make sure
that these kids do not slip between the cracks."
(The Advocate)
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