Ace’s Place homeless shelter in Long Island City opened on Tuesday and will cost taxpayers $65 million over the next five years, the Daily Mail reported.
“Officials said the facility is the only of its kind in the entire nation and will offer up 150 beds to transgender New Yorkers in need,” according to the report.
Destination Tomorrow, a Bronx-based LGBTQ+ center, is running the facility. Sean Ebony Coleman, CEO of Destination Tomorrow, said the new shelter is named after his mother, whose nickname was “Ace.”
The $65 million price tag equates to about $86,700 per bed annually through 2030, according to the report.
“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,” said Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park.
Commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services Molly Wasow Park
Park told the Gothamist the city places people in shelters based on “gender identity.” New York City reserves 30 beds across the city for transgender and “gender non-conforming” people, according to the report. These individuals are allowed to stay in traditional shelters, or they can request to be transferred to Ace’s Place, Park said.
Coleman said it is “almost impossible” to thrive in an environment where “you’re asking for help and they’re constantly misgendering you and constantly telling you you’re not who you say you are.”
The shelter has a full-time psychiatric nurse onsite and social workers, according to the report.
“Destination Tomorrow will also be implementing its ‘holistic’ approaches to mental wellness, offering activities including yoga and meditation,” the report continues. “The nonprofit also plans on starting up culinary programs for people living at the shelter. Through these offerings, residents will get hands-on kitchen experience.”
Park said Ace’s Place is opening as “transgender rights” are “under attack,” referencing President Donald Trump’s executive orders seeking to restore the biological reality of male and female to the federal government.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
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