AFC president and executive director Alexander Roque underscored that sentiment, reminding attendees that LGBTQ+ youth make up nearly 40% of the homeless youth population in this country. And that each year, the Ali Forney Center—named for a queer homeless youth and advocate who was murdered in New York City in December 1997 at the age of 22—opens its doors to more than 2,000 young people ages 16 to 24 each year. “Tonight, over 400 young people are on our waiting list for a bed. Four hundred. That is not an abstract,” said an impassioned Roque. “That is 400 young souls who have known the heartache and heartbreak of family rejection. Four hundred young people standing at their own moment of decision, wondering if anyone will show up for them.”
This year’s Ali Forney Center Seat at the Table gala raised more than $3 million, according to the AFC. “It’s a very proud moment for me,” said Schreiber, an Emmy-nominated actor known for his work on Ray Donovan. When he took the stage with his wife, Taylor, one audience member shouted, “Free Palestine!” to which the slightly surprised Schreiber replied, “Okay. I agree.” (In September 2025, Schreiber was among more than 1,200 in Hollywood who signed an open letter opposing the call for a boycott of Israeli film institutions over the war in Gaza.)
A rowdy table opens their pockets at the annual Ali Forney Center APAT gala.Quadir Moore/BFA.com
Schreiber credited Taylor, “the kindest, fullest version of a human being that I’ve ever met,” with introducing him to the organization. Wearing a red halter gown, Taylor explained that when she met the actor, “I fell in love and that love was a package deal, in my mind that’s the best kind. I got to become a stepmom…in an instant, everything I thought I knew about love changed.” Schreiber has two children with Oscar-nominated actor Naomi Watts, including Kai Schreiber, who is now 17.
“My stepdaughter is transgender. She transitioned at an early age. It was not a surprise to any of us because she was the same person she had always been,” said Taylor from the stage. “Changing her pronouns didn’t change who she was inside. It just finally let the outside match. She’s a teenager now and she is thriving. She’s crushing it as a model in the fashion world and she’s one of the strongest people I have ever known.” Last year, Kai walked the Valentino fall 2025 runway at Paris Fashion Week.
