Alongside her friend and fellow activist Sylvia Rivera, she founded the gay and transgender organization STAR, which stands for Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, with the goal to help LGBT+ youth and sex workers with support and housing. They opened the STAR House in 1972, which was a place for gay and transgender street kids to stay. Johnson and Sylvia paid for the rent in any way they could, frequently working as sex workers for money. These two women were so smart and unafraid of the world, doing everything they could to help the community. Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera continued to have a huge presence at gay pride events and protests, and are honored today as heroes for their contributions to the LGBT+ community in NYC.