A few days ago I received an email, with the subject line "Ali Forney Foundation," from my friend Mark who lives and works in New York City. A couple graphics were attached to the email and he explained that he'd started seeing the images in the subways on his way to work.The beautiful, simple and powerful posters from the Ali Forney Center, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth homeless services center, were part of the launch of a print and outdoor advertising campaign to ask a simple question: "Would you stop loving your child if you found out they were gay or lesbian?"
Telephone kiosk ads began appearing in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx on June 16, followed by print ads in publications such as the Caribbean Times, Hoy, Manhattan Times, Afro Times and New American Times. In addition, over 1000 subway ads began appearing on June 26, the day of the annual LGBT Pride celebration and parade in New York City. The campaign was created to send a strong message to parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth during Gay Pride Week in New York City.
In commenting on the campaign, Carl Siciliano, Executive Director of the Ali Forney Center, said, "This ad campaign speaks to a universal human experience, the love between a parent and a child,"
"Our goal is to address the rising rate of LGBT youth homelessness, particularly in communities of color," he continued.
The Ali Forney Center was started in June of 2002 in response to the lack of safe shelter for LGBT youth in New York City. AFC is dedicated to promoting awareness of the plight of homeless LGBT youth in the United States with the goal of generating responses on local and national levels from government funders, foundations, and the LGBT community.
The mission of the organi- zation is to help homeless LGBT youth be safe and become independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood. According to Siciliano, from his Advocate.com commentary Do we reject our LGBT children?, "a recent study indicated that 25% of teens who come out experience rejection by their families. And many of these rejected teens find themselves out on the street, homeless and vulnerable. Surveys of homeless youths in cities across our country consistently show LGBT teens making up 25% to 50% of the entire homeless youth population."
The center is committed to providing homeless LGBT youth with the services they need to thrive, including emergency and transitional housing, medical and psychiatric care, street outreach and drop-in services, and a vocational training program.
The campaign was created by Double Platinum, a full-service marketing communications agency that specializes in messaging related to the GLBT community and for the gay and lesbian market.
© 2006 Jeff Fisher LogoMotives
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