Shelter

bull; Of the roughly 15,000 to 20,000 homeless youths in New York, up to 40 percent of them are LGBTQ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer).
bull; Sylvia's Place originated as the vision of Sylvia Rivera, a transgendered woman, who was an advocate for LGBTQ rights during her life and worked tirelessly, even while stricken with cancer, for the food pantry at the Metropolitan Community Church of New York. On her deathbed, she made the Reverend Pat Bumgardner promise to find a way to start a shelter in the space. One year after her death Rev Pat saw to it that this vision was seen through to fruition.
bull; Their first client arrived on April 3rd of 2003, and within a week from Ron's arrival, Lucky Michaels was hired. As a participant observer, Lucky began photographing the environment and the teenagers who walked through their doors.
bull; Each young person in Shelter has had something to say, even if only in silence. With music flooding the air inside, voices vying for attention, pots clanging in the sink, silence has a story of its own.
bull; The one thing they all have in common is that they have nowhere else to sleep, but even sleep is never a guarantee at Sylvia's. Many of them lie plagued with insomnia, others lie awake with the hope of a new day.