I came to work at the Center because I felt there was a need for youth in the child welfare system to experience being served by someone who looks like them and experiences similar struggles regarding their sexual orientation, religion, and culture. Working at the Center has given me an opportunity to expand my capacity to model, support, and influence my fellow staff members to provide the best direct services possible. It’s also given me the opportunity to provide feedback to the child welfare system that could inform the department’s policies when it comes to serving LGBTQ+ youth. In addition,…
Author: Greg Hernandez
The more I volunteer, the more I learn about our community. I feel connected to people like me, and I feel useful—like I’m doing something that matters and will make a difference to somebody. There’s no better feeling than coming home after volunteering, knowing I’ve done my best to help the Center help others. As a videographer, I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing many great people of all kinds at different events. It can be very powerful. I’ve had trans kids tell me about suffering from bullying and violence in school, but they feel safe and included at the Center.…
The MisMatch Game creator and host Dennis Hensley described the most recent edition of his long-running Los Angeles LGBT Center fundraiser as “totally off the chain.” The side-splitting parody of the ‘70s game show not only had a record crowd on February 8 but is also close to crossing the $150,000 mark in overall money raised since 2004 for Center programs and services. “This is the biggest crowd we’ve ever had,” Jon Imparato, the Center’s director of cultural arts announced to the Renberg Theatre crowd. ‘This has been amazing!” The 78th edition of The MisMatch Game sold out with a…
Nearly all of my close friends are straight, so I never really felt like I had a “queer posse” until I started volunteering at the Center. Spending so much time at the Center has helped counterbalance internalized homophobia from growing up and existing in such a heteronormative world. It has opened me up so much as a person and also made me so much more comfortable with my queerness, and by extension, with myself. It all began the day after the 2016 presidential election. I said on social media that anyone who was freaking out could DM me. I got a lot…
By Greg Hernandez The deaths of her parents less than four months apart in 2017 led Joanna Gleason to create the deeply personal musical journey Out of the Eclipse. And the Tony Award-winning star is bringing the show to the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theater on February 15 and 16. “I kind of went into a very dark place even though they were very old—and I’m not young,” Gleason shares with LGBT News Now. “With the world feeling so shaky anyway, losing them caused me to lose my balance. I really couldn’t find which way was up.” Many people…
Following public outcry, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) has reinstated funding for vital STD and HIV services offered by the Los Angeles LGBT Center. The temporary agreement, announced on January 28, restores funding at least through the end of March. The Center, one of the largest providers of free STD testing in the county, is expected to have discussions with DPH about a long-term funding solution. “We are hopeful, but nothing is guaranteed,” Center CEO Lorri L. Jean points out. “Clearly our community stands at the ready to re-engage should this become necessary.” Without any funding,…
The Los Angeles LGBT Center was there for me when I really needed it — before I was even an L.A. resident. I was so inspired by the work the Center does, and what they did for me, that I knew my destiny was to work here and to share the inspiration and empowerment I gained with the rest of our community. The Center has given me an amazing platform to share our abundant resources with our trans and non-binary siblings. I’ve become a leader within the community and have earned the reputation as a “go-to” person for folks in…
After the 2016 election I felt like I really needed to dive in and help my community in any way possible so I became a volunteer at the Center. It centers me and makes me feel like I’ve lent myself to something that makes a difference for people. I’ve met friends and learned so much. It reminds me that I’m part of a community of people who have been fighting to make things better for a long time. As a volunteer, I’ve done everything from picking up after the summer movie screenings at Hollywood Forever to helping set up check-ins…
By Greg Hernandez Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Lorri L. Jean fired up a crowd of more than 300,000 spectators at the fourth annual Women’s March LA by focusing on the high stakes of the 2020 election. “We must harness the power of marches like these and take it to the polls,” Jean said at Los Angeles City Hall on January 18. ”This election must be the year of women rising! We must rise to power, persuade more women to run for office, and elect women in droves. We need equal numbers of women in elected office.” Jean reminded people…
By Greg Hernandez Anyone who has spent time in South Los Angeles working on HIV and AIDS over the last four decades likely knows of Dr. Wilbert C. Jordan. So, when it came time to inaugurate Center South, the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s expansion near Leimert Park, CEO Lorri L. Jean said there was no one more deserving to honor at the grand opening than Jordan. “He has worked tirelessly for more than 40 years to care for people with HIV and AIDS, often people that few others wanted: addicts, gay and bisexual men, transgender women,” Jean said at the…