They call her Mama Ruby. For more than a decade, Ruby Corado has been the matriarch of Washington D.C.’s LGBT community. Today, she is a nationally renowned activist and motivational speaker who has won numerous awards for her work with LGBT youth. But life hasn’t always been easy for Corado. She was born in El Salvador in the 1970s at a time of deep strife for that country. At just sixteen years old she fled to America to escape a civil war, choosing Washington, D.C. as her new home. Things weren’t much easier in the U.S. As a trans woman of color and recent immigrant, Corado faced persecution from all sides. She came out as transgender in the 90s, well before trans folks had even the limited public support that they have now. As a reward for her courage, she was promptly fired from her office job and forced to live on the streets. Homeless and destitute, Corado spent plenty of time in shelters. These shelters were, however, designed to first accommodate the most “deserving” members of the homeless population. This did not include immigrants and it certainly did not include trans women. Facing abuse even at her most vulnerable, Corado had a dream. "I had a dream,” she says, “I was running a gay shelter, and in this dream I was putting these satin sheets on the beds, and it was so pretty, and it was very gay." This dream stayed with her for years. A place that she could call her own, a place where all would be welcome, a place that would support the most vulnerable members of society. In 2003, she co-founded the DC Trans Coalition. For years, the group operated as the leading force for transgender advocacy in the city. Things were finally starting to come together for Corado. That is, until 2009. That was the year she was brutally beaten – almost to death – by an abusive boyfriend. The trauma nearly took her down. In deep physical and emotional pain, Corado was unable to work and was once again out on the streets and living in shelters. She received a disability check from the government for $12,000 to help her get back on her feet. Instead, Corado decided it was time to pay it forward. She had carried her dream of a gay shelter with her all this time and, with the money she received for her disability, opened Casa Ruby. The shelter became the first and only bilingual LGBT homeless shelter in the city. It serves the most disadvantaged within the LGBT community. As a bilingual institution, Casa Ruby welcomes immigrants who would be turned away by many other shelters of its kind. The shelter has a particular focus on housing transgender and gender-non-conforming youth of color who are often the most in-peril members of the queer community. Growing from a one-story drop-in shelter to a 40-bed shelter spread across multiple houses, Casa Ruby has become a haven for homeless, queer youth in need of guidance and a patient ear. Corado doesn’t judge her residents. She was once in their shoes after all. She travels now, speaking throughout the country about her journey and her mission. She gives sensitivity training to help foster a more positive relationship between the queer community and their neighbors. She gives speeches in both English and Spanish, bridging the gap and helping queer immigrants find their place in the queer community at large. As Mama Ruby said when first opening Casa Ruby, “Dreams do come true.”
