For the past 20 years, April has been designated as Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Month. This year it takes on added significance with the COVID-19 pandemic making it more difficult or risky for sexual assault survivors to seek help. This is devastating abuse of power effects people of every age, race, sex, national origin, socioeconomic background, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation. “It is important to recognize that sexual assault is a varied form of violence,” explains Susan Holt, manager of the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s STOP Domestic Violence Program. “We frequently think of rape when we think of…
Author: Greg Hernandez
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I lost my job and was struggling to find a sense of purpose. I am longtime admirer of the Center’s work and important services, so I decided to volunteer. Getting involved connected me to an inspiring and resilient family of volunteers. I can’t think of a club I’d rather be part of than our brave, resilient, and loving community. My volunteer hours have been spent at Pride Pantry, where I help to make sure that members of the community are able to safely receive enough food and groceries during the pandemic. While doing this work,…
By Greg Hernandez Robert had been experiencing homelessness since the age of 16 including stretches of time on Skid Row in Downtown Los Angeles. Now 21, he is beginning a new chapter as one of the first residents of the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s just-opened Michaeljohn Horne & Thomas Eugene Jones Youth Housing. Even before move-in day, Robert had been visualizing what everyday life there will be like. “I had this dream I was in there, and I’m cooking, I’m studying, I’m watching my videos,” he said. “You have a roof over your head, someplace that you can go home…
I had been working for Rite-Aid pharmacies for 10 years when a former co-worker of mine asked if I would be interested in a position at the Center’s pharmacy. I had honestly never heard of the Center at that point and decided to come take a tour. I immediately decided this would be an amazing place to make a new start. It turned out to be one of the wisest decisions of my life. Working at the Center, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, has taught me that I can stay calm in situations when others may break down. Resilience is…
So many people I love are LGBTQ+, and I am proud to be an ally who serves the community and is involved in activism. I was raised in a strict Catholic household in a small town, and the choices I thought I had for my life were really limited. LBGTQ+ people have shown me that I could also create a life that is more beautiful than I thought possible. They have given me far more than I could repay, but I intend to spend my life trying! I began volunteering at the Center last year distributing the to-go lunches to seniors.…
Every year on April 18, National Transgender HIV Testing Day is observed to recognize the importance of routine HIV testing and awareness of HIV status among transgender and non-binary people. It’s also a day to focus on HIV prevention and treatment efforts. At the Trans Wellness Center in Koreatown, the HIV awareness effort occurs all year long because knowing your HIV status is the first step to keeping yourself and your community healthy. “It is important to know your HIV status—it can be scary but you’re better off knowing,” says Solace Rosado, Trans Wellness Center’s health education specialist/clinical liaison. Transgender…
When reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) passed the U.S. House of Representatives last month, the landmark legislation included a provision to establish the first-ever grant program dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community. The provision included in H.R. 1620 is dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking—including trans women of who face mistreatment and discrimination from law enforcement or crisis centers that do not have dedicated services for LBGTQ+ individuals. “Right now, the field is just woefully underfunded and that causes harm,” explains Los Angeles LGBT Center Director of Policy and Community…
As a therapist, the population I work with are people who have experienced so much trauma. They are here in the U.S. alone after escaping their country because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity. They are persecuted and looking for asylum here—a lot of my clients are trying to survive. If I don’t have a good relationship with my client, I won’t be able to help them even if I have all the book knowledge. I tell them, “I’m like a light in this mine, and I show you this path and that path.” The strength lies within…
By Greg Hernandez People should get a COVID-19 vaccine even if they are on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), according to Dr. Ward Carpenter, co-director of Health Services at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. “We have no data whatsoever to suggest remotely that there is any interaction—none, zero,” he said this week during the Trans* Lounge Q&A Covid Vaccines and the TGI ENBY+ Community. “It’s also good news that there’s not any theoretical reason why there would be an interaction.” Carpenter, who has worked in the field of transgender health since 2004 and personally cared for more than 1,000 transgender people,…
Los Angeles LGBT Center Director of Cultural Arts Jon Imparato was center stage on Tuesday when Lily Tomlin presented him with the first-ever LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. Tomlin congratulated Imparato on “a 23-year run of brilliant productions” and called him “one of the kindest, funniest, most capable, most upbeat and loving people I’ve ever known.” “As a producer, Jon is known for taking great care of everyone involved in his productions—protecting them from distractions and outside pressures to ensure that they can do their very best work, nurturing them through any difficulties that arise,” Tomlin said.…