The
Advocate, The national gay & lesbian
newsmagazine, August
14, 2001
Al
Toney, Places homeless gay youth in safe homes across
Massachusetts
When
police officer Al Toney was forced to retire from the Worcester,
Mass., force because of a gunshot injury, he started volunteering
at youth organizations and was struck by the number of homeless
gay teens. In response, he became a foster parent in
1994. But he realized that if he was going to make a real dent
in the problem, "I couldn't be the only one taking in
gay foster kids." So Toney, 34, founded Safe Homes of
Central Massachusetts, an organization that places gay and
lesbian kids with supportive poster parents across the state.
As well as training foster parents about the specific need
of gay and lesbian youth, the organization offers a local drop-in
center and a statewide mentoring program that matches gay and
lesbian teens with adults. "We found that gay and lesbian
kids bounce from foster home to foster home three to four times
more than other kids in foster care," Toney says. "We're
trying to change that and give these young people al little
more stability." --M.D.
