Awardees 2016

The Ali Forney Center

The Ali Forney Center’s mission is to protect LGBTQ youth from the harms of homelessness and to empower them with the tools needed to live independently.

The organization is named for Ali Forney, a gender nonconforming teen who fled his home at 13. He entered the foster care system where he was bounced around to several homes and was beaten. Ali ended up living on the streets. Ali was dedicated to helping other young people and publicly advocated for the safety of homeless LGBT youth. Tragically, in December of 1997, Ali was murdered in Harlem.

Committed to saving the lives of LGBTQ youth, Carl Siciliano founded the Ali Forney Center (AFC) in 2002, in memory of Ali. Since AFC’s launch with just 6 beds in a church basement, the organization has grown to become the largest agency dedicated to LGBTQ homeless youth in the country, assisting nearly 1,400 youth per year through 10 housing sites and a multi-purpose Drop-In Center. The Center’s services include job training, housing, hormone therapy, and counseling.
http://www.aliforneycenter.org     [f]

Parvez Sharma

Parvez Sharma is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and speaker. Sharma is a Muslim from India, moved to the UK, and has recently become a U.S. citizen. He directed and produced the multiple award winning film A JIHAD FOR LOVE (2007) which was viewed by over eight million people in 51 nations, a documentary on the struggles of being Muslim and gay/lesbian. Sharma’s second film A SINNER IN MECCA (2015) is an extraordinary account of his haj to Mecca documented with a cell phone camera strapped to his neck with rubber bands. He was named one of “50 Visionaries who are Changing Your World,” in a list headed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His writings on Islamic, racial and political issues have frequently appeared on The Huffington Post, The Daily Beast and The Guardian, and elsewhere. He has become a prominent speaker on Muslim issues speaking at hundreds of live events around the world including the US State Department and Department of Homeland Security, and the United Nations in Geneva.   http://asinnerinmecca.com/

Joey Terrill

Joey Terrill is a formative figure in the Chicano art movement and in AIDS cultural activism. A second generation native Angeleno, he attended Immaculate Heart College. His work conveys the energy, politics and creative synergy of Chicano and queer art circles in Los Angeles. Over the last thirty years Terrill has created portraits of everyday queer life in the barrio. His project the Chicos Modernos comic books provided safe sex information and education in Spanish to sex workers.

Also notable is Terrill’s thirty years of experience working in HIV/AIDS advocacy, from coordinating the HIV and Vision Loss Program in Los Angeles back when AIDS related sight loss was a common manifestation among those infected, to case managing HIV positive members of the homeless and mentally–ill communities on skid row. Currently he is Director of Community Partnerships for AIDS Healthcare Foundation and works with dozens of organizations and advocates across the US in the effort to decriminalize HIV disclosure laws, as well as addressing the health disparities in communities of color. He is a member of the AHF sponsored LOUD-Latino Outreach and Understanding Division which seeks to support and celebrate LGBT community within the Latino diaspora.    http://joeyterrillart.com/