I didn’t really apply for a job at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. I was earning my hours toward my LMFT license at the Center, and I just never left because I fell in love with my work, my colleagues, and the organization. Working at the Center has given me a sense of purpose, given me a second family, and solidified a life-long interest in supporting the LGBTQ community. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve joked that I’m now the IT Director of Mental Health because the situation has called for transitioning everyone over to telehealth services. We’ve…
Author: Greg Hernandez
Edward Kakish patiently stood in line in the courtyard of the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Anita May Rosenstein Campus with his loyal pet parrot, Buddy, perched on his shoulder. Kakish (pictured above) and approximately 60 other people in line on November 30 were also given a second boxed meal filled with roasted chicken, saffron rice, cannellini beans, and tomatillo. “It sure is an added bonus: quality, good-tasting food,” Kakish said, as he and Buddy inched to the front of the socially-distanced line. “Everything tastes so good—even their spinach. They have made some delicious food.” Since the early days of the…
Being treated to a gourmet dinner and an exclusive screening on a new movie might seem impossible during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Amazon Studios made it happen on November 23 for more than 100 clients of the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Senior Services department including residents of Triangle Square housing complex, the nation’s first and largest affordable housing complex for low-income LGBT seniors. Dinners from Jon & Vinny’s were available for pick-up at the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Senior Center or were delivered to doors at Triangle Square in time to watch a preview screening of the Amazon Original Movie…
On World AIDS Day (December 1), the City of West Hollywood honored Los Angeles LGBT Center’s mental health clinician Chris Aguilar with the Paul Andrew Starke Warrior Award, which is given to staff and volunteers of local organizations who provide outstanding services in HIV/AIDS and substance abuse care. Aguilar, a peer navigator for Health Services’ addiction recovery services, has been with the Center for five years. “It’s definitely gratifying, but a bit awkward, to receive an award because I don’t do the work for accolades,” Aguilar tells LGBT News Now. “My reward is when a client is showing signs of…
Last July, I retired from nursing after 39 years and looked to the Los Angeles LGBT Center to continue finding a way to help others. It was easy to recognize that the LGBT community has a dire need for support. I am the mother of an awesome transgender son whose transition journey started during college. He was active in the school’s LGBT club and, through that, I was able to meet many young adults and hear about their struggles to fit in and to feel valued. I started volunteering in November of last year and worked with the seniors on…
Popular YouTube personality MacDoesIt quickly declared himself the ideal person to host the Opening Session of the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s 28thannual Models of Pride conference because of this year’s theme: Fierce, Fabulous, Free. “I like to live my life authentically, and I think that’s what makes me fierce and so that’s why I am your host today,” he explained. “Fierce, fabulous and free. You think of that, you think of Mac, right?” MacDoesIt remarked that he had to get up a little earlier than usual for the hosting gig but didn’t have to leave his house since the world’s largest…
I had a background with community nonprofits when I first moved to Los Angeles but found myself working at a financial institution. The whole time I was there, I wanted to be somewhere more people-centered—a place like the Los Angeles LGBT Center. I had become familiar with the Center, had a few friends working there already, and it seemed like it would be a good fit for me. It has been! I enjoy working here and knowing that the world is just a little better because of my efforts. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, I’ve been splitting my time…
Bridget Trumpet arrived in the United States from her native England 31 years ago with a college scholarship and dreams of becoming a professional basketball player. Ultimately, found her biggest success off the court as a Certified Public Accountant working for such firms as KPMG and Ernst & Young before forming her Trumpet Financial Group, Inc., in 2010. Ten years prior, one of her employers asked her to transfer from New York to Los Angeles in order to take on some clients in the entertainment industry. She happily settled in West Hollywood and quickly found herself looking for community. “We…
The night after he was elected to an eleventh term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Adam Schiff was feeling hopeful and relieved about an imminent victory for Joe Biden in the presidential election. “The current president has a bigger bully pulpit and a stronger ability to set the tone of the nation than anyone else,” said the Democratic congressman during the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s post-election virtual conversation What Happens Now? “Having someone really decent in that job again, someone like Joe Biden, will make a big difference.” Schiff participated in the two-hour Facebook Live conversation, moderated by Center…
The world’s largest free conference for LGBTQ youth and allies will go on, as scheduled, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But instead of taking place on a college campus as in previous years, the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s 28th annual Models of Pride will be streamed globally Nov. 14-15. This year’s theme is Fierce, Fabulous, Free. “This allows people from all over the country, all over the world to take part. In light of our current political climate, we want to remind youth that our community is one of resilience,” explains Kevin McCloskey, the Center’s Director of Community-Based Programs. “We…