[3] Forney, assigned male at birth, continued to work as a sex worker, often dressed in women's clothing.
[3] After turning 18, Forney received a settlement for a childhood car accident, but remained estranged from their family, and was ineligible for city youth shelters after reaching the age of 19.
[5] Proudly HIV-negative, Forney became good at peer counseling and promoted safety, carrying a pocketful of condoms and offering them to drug dealers.
[5] At 4 a.m. on December 5, 1997, Forney was found by the police shot to death on the sidewalk in front of a housing project on East 131st Street in Harlem.
[5] According to The New York Times Forney was the third young transgender sex worker murdered in Harlem in fourteen months.
It serves mostly Manhattan and Brooklyn youth aged 16 to 24 years, providing them with safe shelter and other help in addition to counseling for their families where needed.