New York, NY —

The city has decided to end five contracts with nonprofits that provide more than $2 million in outreach services to homeless people with AIDS.

The Department of Health has decided instead to use that money to operate more than 300 new apartments being built for homeless people with HIV. The Ali Forney Center in Chelsea relies exclusively on these funds. Director Carl Siciliano says it's the only facility that caters specifically to homeless gay, lesbian and trans-gendered youth.

SICILIANO: Obviously I'm going to try to raise private money to keep this going but I also have to acknowledge that suddenly we are in a much more challenging environment in which to raise private money because a lot of people have a lot less money in their pockets to give.

REPORTER: The city's contracts with the Ali Forney Center and four other services are expected to end by June.

The Department of Health says it hopes to find other funding streams to continue the services.