Ace’s Place, a new transitional housing program for trans New Yorkers, opened this summer in Long Island City, Queens.
Destination Tomorrow
The Bronx-based LGBTQ organization Destination Tomorrow and the New York City Department of Social Services on Aug. 5 announced the opening of a new transitional housing program dedicated to serving more than 100 homeless transgender individuals ages 25 and up.
Known as Ace’s place, the program is based in the Long Island City section of Queens and is led in large part by Destination Tomorrow, which will team up with the city to provide shelter services with 150 beds and a host of wraparound services — including mental health and workforce development offerings — for homeless transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary New Yorkers.
The program had a soft opening in July and has just over a dozen clients so far, but the space will continue to be developed as more clients fill in. The 150 beds will include both single beds and double beds. According to Sean Coleman, the founder and CEO of Destination Tomorrow, individuals will be referred to the shelter through the Department of Homeless Services, where they will complete an intake and then request to be housed in that space or be placed there.
“I’ve been doing this work in New York City for a very long time, and this is just an amazing feeling to offer this kind of service for my community in this climate,” Coleman said in an interview with Gay City News on Aug. 7.
The idea for such an initiative first emerged several years ago when Destination Tomorrow noticed a request for proposal, applied for it, and ultimately won the contract. This led the organization to work with the city to identify an ideal space for a transitional housing program for homeless transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals.
The program entails a five-year, $65.8 million contract through 2030. The city is calling it the first city-funded shelter for transgender individuals.
Services at the facility include a culinary arts program through Destination Tomorrow’s commercial kitchens as well as on-site and off-site services like case management, individual and group counseling, medical and mental health services, support groups, financial literacy workshops, college preparation, housing placement, and employment assistance.
A full-time psychiatric nurse practitioner, social workers, and credentialed staff will collaborate to help clients in the program, which will also provide holistic approaches to wellness with yoga, meditation, and more. A culinary-specific work study program is in development.
Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said in a written statement that the agency “couldn’t be prouder to make this historic announcement that strongly affirms our values and commitment to strengthening the safety net for transgender New Yorkers at a time when their rights are roundly under attack.”
“Ace’s Place will offer transgender New Yorkers a safe place to heal and stabilize in trauma-informed settings with the support of staff who are deeply invested in their growth and wellbeing,” the commissioner added.
Department of Homeless Services Administrator Joslyn Carter also voiced praise for the program, who said Coleman’s “tireless advocacy for transgender New Yorkers has been instrumental in creating real, lasting support for those experiencing homelessness in the community.”
Coleman and the team at Destination Tomorrow — which also has outposts in Atlanta and Washington, DC — are no strangers to this work: The organization, Coleman said, has already operated a shelter with 16 beds.
“We have been doing housing for a good while now,” he said.
The program is emerging at a time when transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals are under relentless attack by the Trump administration, which has demonized the community since taking office in January with a dizzying blitz of discriminatory, transphobic actions, including restricting gender-affirming care, mounting discriminatory bans on transgender athletes from playing sports in accordance with their gender identity, barring trans people from the military, and deliberately refusing to recognize people in their true gender on federal identification documents like passports.
Notably, the Trump administration’s aggressive attacks on the community followed a nationwide effort in recent years to dismantle trans rights at the state level, particularly in red states, ultimately laying the groundwork for this year’s dangerous explosion of transphobia.
Coleman said one of the most urgent issues among his members right now is building trust, which he said goes hand-in-hand with making sure the city lives up to its reputation as a sanctuary city. Among other urgent issues, Coleman cited health and wellness — especially in light of looming cuts to Medicaid and other services — and safety.
“I want to say safety because of all the rhetoric the community is being exposed to — especially from the highest office in the land,” Coleman said.
He added: “I want folks to give [the program] a chance. I know it’s a hot button issue, but for us, it is not. For us, it is providing a safer options when it comes to those members of the community who find themselves homeless. We want to meet clients where they are.”
→ Continue reading at amNY
