LGBTQ Homeless Shelter In New York Will Be Named After This Golden Girl

To thank her for being a friend, this Golden Girls star is receiving an honor from the LGBTQ community. According to DNAinfo, a new homeless shelter in New York City aimed at LGBTQ youth is being named after Dorothy herself, Bea Arthur. The Bea Arthur Residence in the East Village was named in honor of the star, who passed away in 2009, because her donation is what made it possible. Arthur donated $300,000 to the Ali Forney Center, a nonprofit that works with homeless LGBT youth. “At the time it was the height of the recession and I don’t know how we would’ve survived without that great gift and that support,” Carl Siciliano, executive director of the Ali Forney Center, told DNAinfo. “I’m so proud that we’re able to name [the new facility] in her honor.” That generous donation from Arthur was not the only time she supported the nonprofit. In 2005, at the age of 82, she revived her one-woman Broadway show for one night only to raise money. She ended up raising $40,000. "These kids at the Ali Forney Center are literally dumped by their families because of the fact that they are lesbian, gay or transgender," Arhur said in an interview with Next Magazine before her death. "This organization really is saving lives." The 18-bed shelter, which will provide counseling to the city’s homeless gay and transgender youth, is expected to open in February 2017. If you would like to support the Bea Arthur Residence, you can do so by going here.