#ali forney

[yourdailyqueer]

Ali Forney (deceased)

Gender: Transgender man

Sexuality: Gay

DOB: 12 April 1975

RIP: 5 December 1997

Ethnicity: African American

Occupation: Activist, LGBT advocate, sex worker

[morbidology]

Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Ali Forney was raised by a single mother. As a young child, Ali and her siblings and mother moved into a housing project in Brooklyn. It wasn’t an easy place for a young child to be growing up; at the time, it ranked the chart when it came to violent crime.

From a young age, Ali knew she was different. While boys in her class were playing with soldiers, Ali played with dolls and dressed up in her mother’s clothing."It is frustrating trying to hide something you have to let out. I tried for years. But my mother knew something was there,” she said in a later interview. As Ali grew up, she continued to dress up in women’s clothing and then at 13-years-old, she was rejected by her family and sent to a group home. Shortly thereafter, she ran away and was subsequently bounced from foster home to foster home.

Several months later, Ali sold sex for $40. She recalled that this made her feel wealthy “like Donald Trump.” She moved to the streets where she continued to sell sex under the name of “Luscious.” When she turned 18, she received a $10,000 settlement from a traffic accident. She planned on using this money to reunite with her family. However, she was turned away once again: they wanted nothing to do with her. She fell into a state of depression and subsequently turned to drugs to heal the pain.

Ali then started counselling sessions at New York’s outreach programs. She took to the programs so well that she soon became an advocate for street safety and lobbied for the needs of homeless transgender kids. After finally got herself stabilized and got a roof over her head. She dedicated her time to helping peers who were in the same bleak situation that she once was. In her spare time, she attended The Safe Space and partook in the talent show. Her talent? Singing. On the 4th of December, 1997, Ali sang her last song. It was eerily prophetic:

“Though the storms keep on raging in my life, And sometimes it's hard to tell the night from day. Still that hope that I pray for is reassured, As I keep my eyes upon the distant shore. I know he'll lead me safely to that pleasant place he has for me.”

The following morning, Ali Forney was found dead. She had been shot in the head in front of a housing project on East 131th Street. She was the third young transgender sex worker murdered in Harlem in fourteen months. Her murder still remains unsolved.

[alysia-constantine-blog]

Green, green, green!

Folks, I want to thank everyone who helped us raise over $200 for NY’s queer, social justice-oriented Circus Amok and the Ali Forney Center for queer homeless youth! Woo! 

Thank you to everyone who came to the book party for OLYMPIA KNIFE and gave money to help.

[mikehelbert]

I've been supporting Ali Forney Center for the past few years. They do wonderful and necessary work helping those who desperately need it.

[paulturner76]

I just blogged at Musings Of A Mild Mannered Man - Bea Arthur LGBT homeless shelter opens just in time for Christmas

An LGBT homeless shelter in honour of Golden Girls star Bea Arthur has just opened just in time for Christmas. Bea Arthur, who died in 2009, left $300,000 in her will to the Ali Forney Center, which works to help LGBT homeless youths in New York.  Seven years on, and the...

#AliForney, #BeaArthur, #Community, #Entertainment, #FilmAndTV, #GoldenGirls, #Homeless, #LGBT, #Trending, #US

[esqrever]

Carta Aberta Ao Papa Francisco: A Homofobia Religiosa E A Juventude LGBT Sem-Abrigo

Esta semana Carl Siciliano, director do centro Ali Forney (em memória do jovem LGBT assassinado em 1997), escreveu e publicou no The Huffington Post a seguinte carta ao Papa Francisco onde apela ao reconhecimento do impacto que a homofobia da Igreja tem nos jovens LGBT e na consequência de muitos serem expulsos das suas famílias e tornarem-se, assim, sem-abrigo. Leiam:

Sua Santidade,

No Domingo…

View On WordPress

[17000dollars]

How much have you raised

This is a good question!  I've been neglecting the fundraiser between moving and research stuff.  So far, we've raised 5,043.36 dollars and we're the 5th largest donor registered with the Ali Forney Center website.

For those of you who weren't around when I was spamming the fundraiser, the Ali Forney Center is an NYC-based organization that provides a lot of resources to homeless LGBTQ youth, from food, shelter, and clothing to mental and physical health care to employment and educational counseling. Click here to check out our fundraiser!

[kaufmanmusiccenter]

Learn about Ali Forney and The Ali Forney Center. They will be having a benefit concert on June 17th at 8 pm. Join us for a truly important event to help New York City's LGBTQ youth.

http://bit.ly/18BfmhU