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It appears that the proposed $7 million in cuts to New York City's homeless youth services budget (60 percent of the program's budget) will be restored to next year's budget to match the previous year's funding.
As we previously reported, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's initial proposed budget would have resulted in the lost of 160 of 259 shelter beds.
The City Council will vote on the new budget later this week.
More after the jump.
Carl Siciliano, Instinct Leading Man and executive director of the Ali Forney Center, the leading provider of shelter for homeless LGBT youth, tells The Huffington Post, "In terms of my terror that we would lose beds, I'm grateful that that's not the case. But on a deeper level, you know, I'm turning away kids every day who have nowhere to stay. Most of them turn to prostitution; enormous numbers are being infected with AIDS."
City Councilman Lewis Fidler, who chairs the Council's Youth Services Committee, tells Huff Po that he unsuccessfully pushed for the additional funds. He says, "To the last breath I told them, if there's any money lying on the table someplace, that's where they should put it."
He continues, "I'm satisfied at least that we didn't take a step backwards."
What do you think, Instincters?
We're breathing a sigh of relief that homeless youth (of which LGBT youth represent a disproportionately large percentage) aren't seeing a decrease in funding and resources, but it's clear that they don't have nearly enough of the support that they desperately need.
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