Half of all children aging out of the foster care system become homeless within six months of discharge. In New York City alone, there are almost 5,000 homeless individuals under the age of 25. Though there are some services available to homeless adolescents and young adults, they are horribly underfunded and understaffed. One of these programs, the Ali Forney Center, offers incredible support to homeless youth, specifically those that identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community.  Unfortunately, they are only able to offer 66 beds in their emergency housing program and 58 beds in their transitional housing program.  There are around 200 individuals on the wait list at any given time.  Waitlists for young people to get one of these beds range from 2 weeks to up to six months or longer.  This program is funded by the Department of Youth and Community development, and they are in desperate need of more funding in order to meet the vast need in the community.  Increased funding will not only allow for the center to accommodate youth for a longer time frame, but also for them to be able to offer emergency services for adolescents and young adults in a timely manner.  It would also allow the center to hire more staff to provide individual support to youth in need. Please consider signing and sharing this petition to get the attention of the Department of Youth and Community Services.