In this month’s podcast Amanda is joined by two representatives of the Ali Forney Center in New York. Nadia Swanson is Director of Technical Assistance and Advocacy and Maddox Guerilla is Technical Assistance Consultant, and former graduate of the Center.

The Ali Forney Center (AFC) was established in 2002 in memory of Ali, a gender non-conforming person who was tragically murdered on the streets of New York in 1997. Homelessness is an issue which disproportionately affects the LGBTQ+ community with over 40% of homeless youth in the USA identifying as LGBTQ+. 

Amanda, Nadia and Maddox discuss how the AFC has created a welcoming and affirming environment, with low barriers to entry in which young people are able to regulate their nervous systems and overcome trauma. And we hear about AFC’s approach to supporting organisations establishing or expanding their LGBTQ+ services in countries with very different cultural, political and legal contexts.