This episode includes discussion of sexual assault and self-harm that some listeners may find disturbing.

Listener discretion is advised.

It was a sunny September day back in 2021 and an unassuming building on our street in Washington, D.C.

A group of dedicated employees and volunteers were providing critical services to some of the nation's most vulnerable people, mostly young LGBTQ plus people of color.

These were the clients of Casa Ruby, a non-profit

organization created to protect and serve members of the LGBTQ plus community.

Over the years, the shelter had become more than just a place to work.

It was also a home.

The people who worked and lived there were like a family.

And the matriarch at the center of it all was the organization's

founder Ruby Corrado. The staff wasn't expecting 50-year-old Corrado to come in that day.

She had her hands full spearheading all of

Casa Ruby's many operations and she couldn't be everywhere all at once. But she

did show up and it was with the worst news imaginable.

Setting down her designer handbag,

Karato gathered the staff around her and made her announcement.

One of the shelter's main sponsors had withdrawn its support.

Without their funding, Casa Ruby had to close its doors immediately.

This meant that everyone working there had lost their jobs, their source of income and

purpose, and even more urgently, all of their clients needed to find somewhere else to rest their heads.

But before people could start making arrangements, Corrato asked for a group photo.

She told everyone to look sad, which probably wasn't necessary.

...