--- description: Ceyenne Doroshow founded Gays and Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society, or G.L.I.T.S., in 2015 to help trans and sex-worker communities with issues like housing... title: ‘This Is Not a Shelter:’ Ceyenne Doroshow on Providing Free, Safe Space for LGBTQ People in Need image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd151b416e85ba6fd/698a17a48fd2ee63c0362572/ceyenne-doroshow-interview.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'This Is Not a Shelter:' Ceyenne Doroshow on Providing Free, Safe Space for LGBTQ People in Need by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 4, 2021 6:22 PM CUT  "Letting us create what we know is going to save our community." "Letting us create what we know is going to save our community."Justin French by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 4, 2021 6:22 PM CUT Ceyenne Doroshow founded Gays and Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society, or [G.L.I.T.S.](https://www.glitsinc.org/ "undefined"), in 2015 to help trans and sex-worker communities with issues like housing and health care. These needs became increasingly urgent after the onset of the pandemic in 2020, [one of the deadliest years](https://time.com/5914256/transgender-day-of-remembrance-2020/ "undefined") on record for trans and gender-­nonconforming people. In response, Doroshow and her team at G.L.I.T.S. began fund­raising; they bailed LGBTQIA+ inmates out of [COVID-ravaged jails](https://time.com/5924211/coronavirus-outbreaks-prisons-jails-vaccines/ "undefined") and housed them in safe Airbnb rentals; secured rent money for the Black trans community; and ultimately bought a $2 million 12-unit residential building that would be a free safe place for [Black trans folks](https://time.com/collection/the-new-american-revolution/5880964/imara-jones-black-trans-women/ "undefined") to live. The G.L.I.T.S. House in Queens, N.Y., opened in November. Nearly four months later, all of the units are filled and personally customized for each tenant by an interior decorator. In a nation where more than half a million people were [homeless even before the pandemic](https://time.com/5870484/homeless-during-coronavirus-pandemic/ "undefined"), Doroshow spoke with TIME about the way forward. **_Read the full interview_** [**_here_**](https://time.com/5942121/ceyenne-doroshow-interview/ "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5944301/ceyenne-doroshow-lgbtq-people/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5944301/ceyenne-doroshow-lgbtq-people/"},"headline":"'This Is Not a Shelter:' Ceyenne Doroshow on Providing Free, Safe Space for LGBTQ People in Need","datePublished":"2021-03-04T18:22:37.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T09:44:56.938Z","description":"Ceyenne Doroshow founded Gays and Lesbians Living in a Transgender Society, or G.L.I.T.S., in 2015 to help trans and sex-worker communities with issues like housing...","url":"https://time.com/5944301/ceyenne-doroshow-lgbtq-people/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd151b416e85ba6fd/698a17a48fd2ee63c0362572/ceyenne-doroshow-interview.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd151b416e85ba6fd/698a17a48fd2ee63c0362572/ceyenne-doroshow-interview.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"ceyenne-doroshow-interview","caption":"\"Letting us create what we know is going to save our community.\"","creditText":"Justin French","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5944301/ceyenne-doroshow-lgbtq-people/","name":"'This Is Not a Shelter:' Ceyenne Doroshow on Providing Free, Safe Space for LGBTQ People in Need"}}]}] ```