Author: Greg Hernandez

I moved to LA in the fall of 2019 so I had not lived here very long when the pandemic hit and everything closed. It suddenly became much harder to find queer spaces and to find a community in my new home. I figured volunteering for the Center would be a good jumping off point, and it has proven to be that and so much more. I work at the Pride Pantry every Thursday packing bags with produce and boxes with dry foods for pick-up and delivery on Fridays. I started as a “floater” in the summer of 2020 and, after a…

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Frankie J. Grande has always been extremely focused and goal-oriented. The current focus of the Broadway dancer, actor, singer, producer, television host, and social media personality is something very close to his heart: the second annual Rainbowthon, a virtual concert benefitting the Los Angeles LGBT Center on Thursday, June 3. Last year, with the help of some famous friends, Grande raised $55,000 in one night to support Center programs and services impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. “I would love to beat last year’s total,” Grande tells LGBT News Now.“Every year I do something, I always try to go bigger. I hope…

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After I finished grad school, I wanted to work at a place where I could make a difference—and that place has turned out to be the Center. I’m pretty much the unicorn of my department where I’m involved in a little bit of everything that happens in Finance. Coming to a non-profit organization from the corporate world, I’ve learned that I have much more to offer than just a skill and can bring more to the table. At the Center, you are more than just your role, and you know that you are valued. You also do more than just…

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James Sie was already working on his second novel, All Kinds of Other,when he began volunteering at the Los Angeles LGBT Center three years ago. The book, published this month by HarperCollins, is a queer-themed coming-of-age love story centering on the relationship between high school students Jack and Jules. Jules is a basketball player still trying to figure out what it means to be gay; Jack is transgender and a new student at the school. Sie had been impacted by his volunteer work and made his recent book launch into a fundraiser for the Center which raised more than $800.…

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By Greg Hernandez Live music filled the courtyard of the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Anita May Rosenstein Campus on Thursday as pleasantly surprised senior clients lined up to pick up a free hot lunch. The musical duo Chris & Drew performed for a full hour, including such classic songs as Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Happy Days Are Here Again, and Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered. “I think it’s great,” said Stewart Prosise, 73. “All kinds of musical numbers that bring back a lot of memories from many shows over the years. I’ve really been missing live theater.” The special Lunch Box…

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By Gil Diaz As a new member of the Center’s Board of Directors, Jordan Held, LCSW, looks forward to helping create greater strides in the Center’s work, including those benefiting the trans and nonbinary community. “It’s important we take the best step forward and ensure our work is provided to everyone in the LGBTQ community, especially with the Center CEO transition approaching,” said Held, a Boston native. “No organization is perfect, but the trans community is expecting the Center to expand and sustain more trans-related services and programs.” Held migrated to Los Angeles in 2015 to attend graduate school at…

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It’s weird to think it’s been a full year since I started bagging groceries at Pride Pantry and delivering them to the Center’s senior clients. It’s become such a regular part of my life. It gets me out of the house, out of my head, and into thinking about people other than myself. As soon as lockdown was a reality and after hearing about the increased danger posed by the COVID-19 virus to American seniors, I knew it wasn’t an option to just sit in my apartment and only take care of myself. I volunteered with the Trevor Project helpline…

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By Gil Diaz Before launching her own consulting firm specializing in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Tamika Butler served as executive director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to make Los Angeles a healthy, safe, and fun place to ride a bike. “When I moved to Los Angeles, I was constantly in my car and was no longer the active person I had been in the Bay Area. My doctor said I really needed to take better care of myself,” recalled Butler, who identifies as a Black genderqueer woman. “A friend convinced…

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By Greg Hernandez Dr. Kaiyti Duffy, medical director of the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Audre Lorde Health Program, wants LBTQ women to not be afraid to take control of their health. “We’ve all known for a long time that LBTQ women face significant barriers when accessing health care,” Duffy points out. “There’s a lot of fear and anxiety about having to disclose our sexual identity to a provider who may not be affirming, or worse, might be outright disdainful.” Duffy made her remarks during Reclaim and Reconnect: LBTQ Women’s Health and Healing in 2021, a virtual panel discussion about health…

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I heard about the Center in 2017 not too long after I moved to California. Coming from a town in France where we did not have any LGBTQ+ safe spaces to be ourselves and thrive, I thought: “This is exactly where I want to work.” I applied a couple of times but was not hired at first. Still, I participated in AIDS/LifeCycle and experienced a tremendous amount of love and support and heard so many empowering stories from my community. It opened my heart so much and pushed me to keep on applying with the new mindset: “I want others…

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