Gay and transgender shelter moves

As soon as you open the door, a smell of stagnant air hits you in the face. Located over a shop on Steinway Street, near 31st Avenue, the whole apartment resembles a forlorn closet: unshapely waist-high mountains of clutter and clothes rise against the white walls in every room. The white peeling doors do not close, not even the bathroom door, because they have no handles.
This place may be far from inviting, but for the nine gay and transgender young people living in it, many of them kicked out by their parents, it is a refuge. Soon, however, this shelter, called Carmen’s Place, will be more spacious and inviting because it is moving to a new undisclosed location, close to the Astoria Houses.
Finding this place took a few months because most landlords are unwilling to lease to this cause fearing that the place could be a brothel, said Michael Dropp, co-founder of the shelter, explaining that even the police once suspected that Carmen’s Place was a house of prostitution.
But that’s not what the residents, who come from places as close as South Jamaica and as far as Santa Ana, CA, are doing, according to Dropp.
“They’re trying to get their lives straight,” he said, explaining that they attend workshops and counseling sessions. “The idea is to get them to move on. It’s not just a place for them to flop and stay.”
The new place, which is on the second floor of a house, has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a big living and dining room and a large kitchen, said Father Louis Braxton, who runs the shelter. The current apartment has only two small bedrooms where the nine residents sleep on bunk beds.
The new shelter’s being located in a residential area should make the experience for the residents more comfortable, said Dropp. “Hopefully there will be less name calling there,” he explained.
Recently, one of the residents at Carmen’s Place was beaten up on Steinway Street and the attackers began by calling her names. When Braxton intervened, he was beaten up too.
The new place will also be cheaper - $2,600 for a month’s rent compared to the $3,000 now, explained Braxton. He said he welcomes that because money is always an issue for the shelter, which relies on pantry food and on donations for rent.
In fact, they are still trying to collect money for the security deposit, Braxton said. “It literally comes in $50 and $100 at a time.”
Chloe Elseworth, one of the residents, said she is nervous about the move despite all the advantages because she likes being close to all kinds of shops and businesses on Steinway. “Sometimes people say things on the street [on Steinway], but it doesn’t bother me,” Elseworth, 25, explained.
Nice as the new building is, expansion would be even better, Dropp said. “We’ve always envisioned a big building with offices for social work and rooms for education,” he explained.