"We serve young adults who come to us from street homelessness, and Casa Cecilia will be the first step out of homelessness, which is an amazing opportunity for them to have their feet under them, have a bed for three to six months, ... and then have the opportunity to really get the life skills necessary to live an independent life,"
"The organization, named after a homeless gender-nonconforming youth who died while unhoused, was founded in 2002. It closed on the building for Casa Cecilia last June and has spent the past year finalizing the requirements to open. The shelter marks the first property owned entirely by the AFC, which is working to convert rental units into owned units as it focuses on "figuring out how to become more self sustaining," according to President and Executive Director Alexander Roque."
"For the organization to own Casa Cecilia's building took 'cosmic organizing of just good intent,' Roque says. It's been years in the making. The location was shown to them by the people at Million Dollar Listing, and the owner agreed to cut them a special deal on a lease-to-own contract, after which the AFC leased the building for five years until it could convert it into a shelter."
Casa Cecilia opened October 30 in Harlem to provide shelter and support for unhoused LGBTQ+ young adults ages 21 to 24. The shelter offers short-term beds for three to six months and life-skills programming aimed at helping residents move toward independent living. The facility is the Ali Forney Center's first fully owned property after a lease-to-own arrangement and a five-year lease used to convert the building. The Ali Forney Center was founded in 2002 and named after a gender-nonconforming young person who died while unhoused. The center intends to convert rental units into owned properties to become more self-sustaining.
Read at Advocate.com
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