During these days leading up to the High Holidays, Rosh Ha Shana and Yom Kippur, we are expected to reflect on the last year, on own our short comings and make amends. Every year this process makes me realize how much I meant to do, how much better I meant to be, and then I [...]

“John the Baptist…says, essentially – clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and treat one another decently.  God does not need us to produce life – God needs us to sustain and restore life.” The Rev. Pat Bumgardner Lead Pastor, MCCNY   MCCNY Charities, Inc. shares the mission of Metropolitan Community Church of New York: to [...]

Yesterday, in response to the Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day promoted by Mike Huckabee, masses of people turned out to support the fast food chain and current President and Chief Operating Officer Dan Cathy, son of Chick-fil-A’s founder S. Truett Cathy.  Lines stretched for blocks; people waited for over an hour just to order.   On Mr. [...]

On Thursday, July 19, the core members of Shelter of Peace (RoseAnn, Maryann, Kevin and myself – George was in a meeting at the Governor’s office doing what he does best, advocating for Runaway and Homeless Youth) had a great meeting with Vanessa Shelmandine, the Project Director of the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center, to [...]

One year ago today, one month following the historic passage of the Marriage Equality Act in New York State, same-sex couples were able to legally marry in New York State for the first time.  Just as the battle in Albany leading up to the June 24, 2011 vote had been characterized by great tension, anxiety, [...]

The Williams Institute at the UCLA Law School, together with the True Colors Fund and the Palette Fund, recently published “Serving Our Youth:  Findings from a National Survey of Services Providers Working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth Who Are Homeless or At Risk of Becoming Homeless.”  The report, co-authored by Laura E. Durso [...]

A recent article in Campus Progress states that LGBTQ youth comprise a disproportionately high percentage (15%) of American youth caught in the juvenile justice system, and cites “institutional and family pressures that leave them more vulnerable to homelessness, prostitution, and violence” as the causes.   The article points out that many LGBTQ youth face not [...]

Amid the many cuts in state and city budgets for Runaway and Homeless Youth Services over the past several years, it seems the best news we have had to relate has been that some of this funding had been partially or wholly restored.  However, tonight I would like to share some exciting good news that [...]

Carl Siciliano, founder and Executive Director of the Ali Forney Center, the nation’s largest shelter serving the needs of runaway and homeless LGBTQ youth, has been named as a “Champion of Change in the Fight Against Youth Homelessness” and will attend an event on July 12th at the White House with other leaders in the [...]

Mayor Bloomberg’s administration submitted a budget in early May which would have cut RHYS funding by $7 million dollars and eliminated 160 of the 250 existing youth shelter beds serving over 3,800 homeless youth. The City Council voted to retain the level of funding in place last year essentially restoring the 7 million dollars the [...]