Whether she's woodworking or chatting with others, Ros Davis is at home at GRIOT Circle.

"Being around people just like you, your confidence is up good,” Davis said. “You know, you can do, say, whatever you want, however you feel. And it's a sense of people respecting people for who they are."

GRIOT Circle is a senior center in Brooklyn that was started for people of color in the LGBTQ community.

"We are people too,” Davis said. “We like the same things, want to do the same things, and you want to do it being comfortable."

Davis, who is a member of the LGBTQ community, has been a member of GRIOT for almost 20 years. After her mom passed away, the Brooklyn resident said GRIOT saved her life.

"I was feeling very low, missing my mom, you know, and a couple other things,” she said. "So I came alive again when I came to GRIOT."

Davis comes to the center twice a week now. A dedicated, unofficial chief of operations, she sets up for activities and makes sure everything runs smoothly.

"I would be more grayer than I am right now if we didn't have somebody like Roz,” said Aundaray Guess, the executive director of GRIOT Circle. 

"From the moment I got here, she's been really, you know, a foundation of the organization," Guess added.

Davis also leads discussions about government programs like Medicare.

"It's so much reading and so much paperwork, and in so many different changes that you got to understand, and it's hard to understand," Davis said.

She joins the GRIOT Circle on outings. And she calls GRIOT members to check in on them, just like a sister would.

“The Buddy-2-Buddy program helps them feel wanted, need it, knowing that people care about their well-being,” Davis said. "The community is wonderful. We all like one big family."

For building a second home for LGBTQ seniors in Brooklyn, Ros Davis is our New Yorker of the Week.