In This Issue
- Denver Center Purchases First Home
- Golden Rainbow Senior Center Receives Innovative Counseling Grant
- Resource Center Dallas Partners With University to Offer Counseling
- Cleveland Director Steps Down To Lead Statewide Equality Org
- Long Island Center Responds To Marriage Vote With Events
- Milwaukee Center Partners to Form LGBT Young Adults Housing Initiative
What is Center Links?
From fighting for equality, to serving diverse needs, creating a safe space, and building community and unity, LGBT community centers are the backbone of the LGBT movement. Center Links is the monthly newsletter to see highlights of what is happening every day at centers all over. Center Links is in your mailbox the 10th of every month.About CenterLink
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers was formed in 1994 to support the development of strong, sustainable LGBT community centers and to build a unified center movement. Learn more at www.LGBTcenters.org
Submit Your Story
CenterLink members can submit their stories to be featured in an upcoming issue of CenterLinks, and we will do our best to include them. Please submit to Guido Sanchez, guido@LGBTcenters.org
Denver Center Purchases Its First Home In 33 Years, To Open In Spring
For the first time in its 33-year history, The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Colorado (The Center) has purchased a home of its own at 1301 E. Colfax Ave., just 12 blocks east of the Capitol. "The building will become the epicenter for the LGBT community and beyond -- a central meeting place, an information hub and a community resource," said Center Executive Director Carlos Martinez.
The Center bought the former Video One building for $985,000 earlier this year and renovations are set to begin before the end of this month.
The City and County of Denver played a significant role in facilitating the purchase of the building by providing The Center a $250,000 nonprofit community block grant. The Center is expected to attract more than 3,500 visitors a month to its new location, which will provide a direct economic benefit to the businesses in the vicinity. In addition, The Center hosts PrideFest every year, which created an estimated $23 million in economic impact for the city this year, according to a research study by Birchill Enterprises in Port Angeles, Wash. To learn more about this announcement, click here.
Kaiser Permanente Grant Underwrites Golden Rainbow Senior Center Counseling Program
The Golden Rainbow Senior Center in Palm Springs, CA, is thrilled to announce that Kaiser Permanente has awarded a $50,000
grant towards their counseling program. The grant will support and expand the ReStart program—an eight-week, solution-focused program for older
adults. It is important to express their gratitude for Desert Regional
Hospital Auxiliary who gave the original financial support to launch
ReStart.
The feedback from those people graduating this program has
been tremendously positive. The motivation for starting this counseling
program was a direct response to Riverside County designating the LGBT
older adult as underserved.
With this grant, the Center was able to hire a health and wellness
director, who will take charge of all programming dealing with healthy
aging. Clinical psychologist Dan Parker has accepted this position. Dan
has a passion for the LGBT older adult, and has flown from Australia to
New York to present a lecture at the SAGE conference. SAGE (Services
and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) is such a recognized national leader in
LGBT issues, that President Obama met with them to discuss the needs of
our population, and the Golden Rainbow will become the first
California affiliate with SAGE. To learn more about this announcement, click here.
Resource Center Dallas and Southern Methodist University Joint Project Provides Counseling to LGBT Individuals
Officials from Resource Center Dallas and Southern Methodist University cut a ceremonial ribbon to open the SMU Center for Family Counseling at Resource Center Dallas on Oct. 4.
The center has actually been operating since last November, according to RCD Strategic Communications and Programs Manager Rafael McDonnell. Graduate counseling students from the SMU Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development provide counseling services under the supervision of doctoral licensed university faculty and staff.
McDonnell said this is a service that has not been provided to the community since Oak Lawn Community Services closed its doors on Jan. 1, 2000 and Hope Counseling Center closed about two years later. Read more by clicking here.
Cleveland LGBT Center Director and CenterLink Board Member Transitions to Lead Statewide Equality Group
The LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland announced today that Executive Director, Sue Doerfer, has resigned her position at The Center and has accepted the position of Executive Director of Equality Ohio.
“The Board faces a real challenge in finding a new Executive Director to replace Sue. During Sue's tenure she has done an outstanding job and has taken the Center to new heights”, states Board President Scott Morgan. “Although we will miss her, we congratulate Sue on her new position and believe that the Center's work with Equality Ohio will strengthen. The full Board of the Center will meet next week to finalize the process for finding a new Executive Director.”
In the over five years that Sue has served as Executive Director the Cleveland LGBT Community Center has experienced growth and expansion. Almost immediately after taking the helm, Sue led The Center to changing its name to include bisexual and transgender. This name change proved to be the first sign of a commitment to expand services and programming that are truly inclusive. The programs have been developed and added to the services offered by The Center including transgender programming, the Cyber Center, a diversity training program, a mental health department, internship opportunities, and the youth homeless outreach program. Staff available for programs, counseling, out-reach, drop-in, cyber center, resources and referral has also doubled since 2004. Read more by clicking here.
Long Island Center Mobilizes Community After NY Marraige Defeat
On
December 2nd, The New York State Senate rejected the Marriage Equality bill by
a surprising 38-24 margin. The Long Island GLBT Community Center wasted
no time in reacting to the decision and mobilizing the community for future
action. As the news spread in the late morning that the debate and vote would
indeed take place that day, The Center quickly organized a community gathering
to watch the debate and vote. Despite this all happening suddenly and at lunch
time, more than 40 people made their way down to the Center in anticipation of
seeing history made.
As the final tally was read, the Center's multipurpose room fell silent as all
were disappointed, angry and frustrated with the decision to continue
discrimination against LGBT families. That silence did not last too long
though, as 6 media outlets arrived to The Center to capture our communities
reaction and to see what next steps would be planned. Within an hour, a Town
Hall and Community Forum was planned for December 10th at 7pm to mobilize the
community and discuss next steps for the Marriage Equality movement on Long
Island. The two Senators that voted yes for Marriage Equality will be attending
the meeting at The Center as well as a half dozen representatives from The New
York State Assembly who voted for Marriage Equality. The Center will once again
and continue to be the place that brings all community members together
as we march forward in our quest for equality and fairness.
The Center has been working to educate and organize the Long Island community
around Marriage Equality and other pro-LGBT policy issues for more than 16
years. In 2002, the organization planned a "Marriage Caravan"
traveling more than 75 highway miles to 4 town halls across Long Island with
more than 100 cars and over two-hundred people demanding marriage licenses.
And each year, the organization brings more than 120 people to Albany,
the state capital to meet with elected officials to talk about Center programs
and issues important to our community. LGBT Community Centers are a vital
source of education, mobilization and advocacy for the LGBT community. As
the fight for LGBT Equality and Liberation continues, Community Centers more
than ever before, will be the engine that keeps the movement growing and
running.
Milwaukee LGBT Community Center partners with local agencies to form LGBT Young Adults Housing Initiative
The Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, Pathfinders, St. Aemilian-Lakeside, Inc. and Lad Lake have partnered to address the needs of homeless LGBT youth in the Milwaukee community through the formation of Q-Blok. The partnership is committed to not only developing housing resources for LGBT youth, but also for raising community awareness, advocacy and ongoing resource development for sustainable residential stability for homeless youth and young adults.
"The Center is deeply grateful to The Cream City Foundation, The Helen Bader Foundation, The Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and the City of Milwaukee CDGA's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for their generous gifts in support of our housing initiative," said the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center's Director of Programs Julie Bock. "The funds Received will help us provide supportive scattered housing for 20 youth during the first year of operation."
In addition to housing, The LGBT Young Adults Housing Initiative will provide case management services and will recruit and train sponsoring families that will provide support and guidance for the young adults to help them achieve important milestones.
Recent research conservatively estimates that 20% of homeless youth ages 18-25 are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender (LGBT) while only comprising an estimated 4-10% of the general population. LGBT youth are more likely to become homeless because of abuse and rejection experienced in their families, placements, schools and other areas of their lives. Homeless LGBT youth are not only over represented among the homeless, but they are at greater risk of physical and sexual exploitation. They frequently trade sex and/or drugs for basic food, shelter and transportation needs. Furthermore, efforts to survive on the street or with transitory and unstable housing increase mental and physical health problems.