New York City is now home to what advocates say is the country’s first-ever city-funded shelter specifically for transgender and gender non-conforming people.

On Tuesday, August 5, the New York City Department of Social Services (DSS) and Bronx-based LGBTQ+ nonprofit Destination Tomorrow announced the opening of Ace’s Place, a 150-bed shelter in Long Island City, Queens, that will provide transitional housing and specialized support for trans and gender nonconforming people experiencing homelessness.

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According to Gothamist, Ace’s Place, named for Destination Tomorrow founder and CEO Sean Ebony Coleman’s mother, will provide residents with on-site psychiatric care, culinary and GED classes, and job placement training.

In a statement, DSS Commissioner Molly Wasow Park said that the announcement of Ace’s Place “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.”

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Coleman added that the shelter represents “a hard-fought declaration” that trans and gender nonconforming people “will no longer be pushed to the margins.”

The partnership between DSS and Destination Tomorrow also represents a first step toward the city fulfilling its commitment to build homeless shelters for trans and gender nonconforming people. As Park explained to Gothamist, NYC already places trans people experiencing homelessness in shelters that align with their gender identity and is required to provide at least 30 beds across the city for trans and gender nonconforming people. The city also reached a settlement agreement in 2021 with LGBTQ+ activists to build four shelters specifically designated for trans and gender nonconforming people.  

Numerous studies in recent years have shown that the community faces a much higher risk of homelessness and housing instability than cisgender people. Research has shown that unhoused trans people in particular face barriers navigating social and housing services, and according to a 2020 study, while on the streets, trans people have faced increased mental health issues due to “ongoing exposure to gendered and sexual violence resulting from housing deprivation.” Gothamist cites another 2022 study from the National Center for Transgender Equality that found that nearly one-third of trans people in the U.S. said they have experienced periods when they were unhoused.

As Park told the outlet, that can stem from a variety of issues, like being kicked out of their homes or discrimination in the job market.

Coleman also pointed to the challenges trans and nonbinary people can often face within the shelter system. “Can you imagine going into an environment and you’re asking for help and they’re constantly misgendering you and constantly telling you you’re not who you say you are?” Coleman told Gothamist. “How do you learn in that environment? How do you thrive in that environment? It’s almost impossible.”

At Ace’s Place, however, Coleman said trans and gender nonconforming people will find “an environment that completely affirms who they are and how they see themselves, which mentally gives you the strength to face any challenge you have.”

“We’ve watched so many other corporations and foundations and businesses just like completely turn their back on the community, and the city didn’t do it,” Coleman told Gothamist. “The city is keeping in line with what New York City has always been, a sanctuary city, a safe haven, but more importantly, a trendsetter when it comes to LGBTQ rights.”

Ace’s Place will provide trans residents with “an environment that completely affirms who they are and how they see themselves.”

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