In This Issue
- DC Center Moves And Perseveres
- Phoenix Center Thrives Through Transition
- Memphis Center Expands Youth Services With New Gift
- Racine Center Learns More About Community Needs
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
DC Center Moves and Continues To Work Through Funding Pains
The Center, the DC area's LGBT community center, is about to trade its third-floor perch above 14th and L Streets NW for a new home at street level.
David Mariner, executive director of The Center, announced Monday, Dec. 14, that the organization will soon move into two adjacent buildings previously owned by Whitman-Walk Clinic and sold to JBG Properties in 2008. Under WWC, one building housed the Austin Center, an HIV day-treatment center, and the other the Lesbian Services Program.
''I think that having a location that's visible, that's street accessible and larger, is going to really open up the possibilities for The Center, and the perception of The Center,'' Mariner says.
To learn more about this announcement, click here.
Phoenix Center Thrives Downtown, Transitioning From Virtual To Physical Space
New York has one, Houston has one, Los Angeles has one and up until recently, Phoenix was one of the largest cities in America without its own lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual community center, managing director for One Voice community center, Jeff Gish said.
One Voice in Phoenix opened its doors Sept. 4, establishing the only LGBT community center and space that caters to the gay community since the closing of a similar center in 1999.
Located at 725 West Indian School Road, the center is visible from the road with its bright signage and rainbow flags nestled in between a Salvation Army store and a Mexican market.
Read more by clicking here.
Memphis Expands Efforts To Help Troubled Gay Youth With New Gift
Over the holidays, an anonymous donor gave the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC) a very generous gift — $50,000 to put toward their efforts to help LGBT teens and young adults in need of financial, medical, psychological, and legal support.
The center's Youth Empowerment Services (YES) program has been overwhelmed since its inception. Volunteers and staff have actually paid money from their own pockets to help gay youth in need. According to an MGLCC statement, the number of displaced or homeless gay young adults in the program grew sharply last year.
The donated funds will be used to connect LGBT youth with food, temporary or transitional housing, legal advocacy, medical aid, and more. Some of the money will help MGLCC re-stock its emergency food pantry and clothes closet and hire another staffer at the center to oversee the YES program.
Read more by clicking here.
Racine Center Learns More About Community Needs And How To Serve Them
At this time last year, the city had just given the LGBT Center of Southeast Wisconsin approval to open in Uptown. The group had a Web site, and plans for a building on Junction Avenue, but not much more.
Now, nine months after opening its doors at 1456 Junction Ave., the center hosts support groups and social functions, provides referrals and does a fair share of crisis work for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and their families. Executive Director Bruce Joffe said they didn’t really know what was needed in the community until they started work here.
“What shocked me was the amount of clinical services and support that was needed,” he said. “We got calls from people referred from 211 (a hot line for family, health and social services).” Read more by clicking here.