Green Chimneys

The NYC Division of Green Chimneys (GCNYC) is dedicated to creating safe space for LGBTQ youth who are in foster care or homeless. We seek to empower youth and equip them with vital skills and resources to help them enter adulthood as healthy, responsible members of their communities who feel supported and celebrated rather than disenfranchised and marginalized. By not problematizing their identities, we provide youth with the skills to focus on all of the milestones of adolescence -- free of the stigmatization they so often experience in other parts of their lives.

Green Chimneys was one of the first mainstream child welfare agencies in the country to develop specific programming for at-risk LGBTQ youth. With the opening of our first NYC program, the Gramercy Residence at Ungar House, we offered an alternative for youth in the NYC foster care system who needed a safe place to be themselves and to be respected. Gradually we developed additional LGBTQ youth services, including our Supervised Independent Living Program and Agency Operated Boarding Home for foster youth as well as Runaway/Homeless Youth programming. Although our residents are primarily from the NYC area, we’ve housed youth from other parts of the country as well, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Alabama.

For more information, please contact our NYC Division Director, Theresa Nolan, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (718) 732-1501.