Cesar Toledo Testifies for LGBTQ+ Youth

DHS Budget Oversight Hearing

Today, Cesar Toledo, the Executive Director for the Wanda Alston Foundation, testified before the Committee on Human Services. His statement can be read below.

Good afternoon, Councilmember Frumin and members of the DC Council. My name is Cesar Toledo, and I was recently appointed Executive Director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, one of a few queer-led organizations in DC that provides gender-affirming housing and support services to LGBTQ+ youth. 

Since 2008, the Foundation has provided housing, support services, and pathways to economic mobility to over a hundred LGBTQ+ youth. As the rise of attacks on our LGBTQ+ youth rages across the country, DC has long served as a beacon of safety, and that legacy must be preserved.  

The facts are stark. According to the District’s most recent Point-in-Time snapshot, 40% of youth experiencing homelessness identify as LGBTQ+. A national survey found that more than 2 out of 5 trans people in DC have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. Lastly, at the Foundation, 99% of the youth we have served are Black or Latino.

Thanks to the support of Mayor Bowser, DC Council, the community, DHS and the Community Partnership, we operate 20 beds that are never empty. However, like many nonprofit organizations in this space, we face significant challenges. Staffing mandates and bureaucratic invoicing processes create barriers to funding. These hurdles are painfully difficult for LGBTQ+ nonprofits like ours, which are being targeted by the federal government and face declining corporate support. 

Councilmember Frumin and members of the Council, I’d love to sit down with your staff to share more about these operational hurdles and explore potential solutions. 

As you continue to debate the FY2026 Budget and Spending Plan, I strongly urge you to preserve funding for transitional youth housing and ensure that homeless LGBTQ+ youth have access to the life-saving, specialized care and support that the Wanda Alston Foundation provides.

Any cuts to this sector could result in a clinical disaster.

Thank you.
Cesar Toledo 
Executive Director
Wanda Alston Foundation