The 2022 Midterm Elections are fast upon us and there is so much at stake this year. Make sure you have all the information you need to make the best choices for you and your loved ones. It’s never been more important to stand together on issues that directly impact our well-being and safety…and our future. The Resistance Squad and Leadership LAB of the Los Angeles LGBT Center will be out in force this Fall mobilizing voters to use their voice to have a say in issues impacting us from the local to the federal levels of government. Join the…
Author: Ari Desano
Today the Los Angeles LGBT Center announces a nationwide program, in collaboration with the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs and In Our Own Voices, Inc., to effectively respond to the unique and emerging needs of survivors of LGBTQ intimate partner violence (IPV). Funded by a $2.25 million federal grant from the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National LGBTQ Institute on Intimate Partner Violence will deliver state-of-the-art training and technical assistance that significantly expands the capacity of public and private agencies to provide culturally relevant, survivor-centered LGBTQ…
By Dan Allen One of the Center’s most uplifting annual events, Senior Prom, returned after a three-year pandemic hiatus, bringing much-needed togetherness and joyous new memories to attendees and staff alike. Some 200 guests and 50 volunteers took part in the Friday evening event at L.A.’s Friendship Auditorium on June 24, with some attendees coming from as far away as San Francisco and Las Vegas. “This year was really special, because people have been cooped up for two and a half years,” says Michael McFadden, the Center’s Senior Services Associate Director of Programs, who helmed the team that put together…
By Dan Allen Some 900 happy guests filled Hollywood Forever on the evening of Sunday, June 26 for the Center’s second annual Pride Picnic, which has quickly become one of the Center’s hallmark Pride Month events. “It was definitely super positive vibes all around,” says Tui Lyon, the Center’s Director of Special Events. “Everywhere I looked, folks were smiling and enjoying the sunshine and the activations.” Lyon came up with the idea for a Pride Picnic last year as the pandemic and its lockdowns were still at their peaks, and many in the LGBTQ+ were feeling especially disconnected and alone.…
By Dan Allen For Marissa Marqusee, the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s global reputation in healthcare was so powerful that they moved to Southern California in 2018 with one specific goal in mind—to work at the Center. “Really the only reason I came out to L.A. was to pursue a career at the Center,” says the Potsdam, New York native, who had been working as a nurse within Brooklyn’s shelter system treating people experiencing homelessness. “If I didn’t get it, I probably wouldn’t have stayed.” Fortunately, within six months of Marqusee’s arrival, the Center did wisely hire them, and they began…
By Dan Allen After two years of going virtual during the pandemic, Trans Pride L.A. made its jubilant return to mostly in-person events this year at the Los Angeles LGBT Center from June 16 to 18. We spoke to organizer Gina Bigham, who’s also the program manager of the Center’s Trans* Lounge, about the importance of the event and its unwavering love bubble. How many people attended Trans Pride L.A. this year? We’re estimating about 1,400 people—about 200 to 250 on Friday, then about 1,100 or maybe closer to 1,200 on Saturday. We did a virtual panel on intersex inclusion…
By Dan Allen After a three-year hiatus wrought by the pandemic, AIDS/LifeCycle returned triumphantly in 2022, raising $17.8 million in critical funds for San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the HIV and AIDS-related services of the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and smashing the previous AIDS/LifeCycle fundraising record by more than a million dollars. “The AIDS/LifeCycle community is one of love, joy, and togetherness,” says Ride Director Tracy Evans. “I don’t know that any of us realized just how important this week is every year. After three years away, it was like the best family reunion you have ever been to.” The…
It’s never been more important to make your voice heard and vote! Make your voting plan now! Vote by Mail UPDATE: Mail-in ballots were mailed to all registered voters in California on Oct. 5! Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The State of California is mailing all registered voters a Vote by Mail Ballot; staying at home and voting using this ballot is strongly encouraged. Be sure to: Place your completed ballot card(s) inside the Official Return Envelope Securely seal the Official Return Envelope Sign and date the back of the Official Return Envelope Return your Mail in Ballot by: Mail,…
My journey with the Los Angeles LGBT Center began as most journeys do—at a drag show hosted by AIDS/LifeCycle. My current Cycle Rep Erik Zamora, whom I became friends with through a mutual friend, invited me to the event at Micky’s in West Hollywood and, honestly, I felt bad saying no so I decided to actually go—alone!— which, if you know me, is very, very rare for me to do. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I tell you that night changed my life. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence performed the most moving number I…
I haven’t been this sad or this mad (or this appalled by Presidential callousness) since the early days of the AIDS epidemic. It was the mid-1980s, and I was a young lawyer living in Washington, D.C. Then we were fighting another pandemic: AIDS. It was hitting hard, and my friends were dying in droves while President Reagan and the federal government either did nothing or made things worse. Since COVID-19 began sweeping across the U.S., it has been hard not to reflect upon those early days of AIDS. Wondering how things might have been different if the government had responded…