I knew I had to be in L.A. so I quit my job, moved halfway across the country, and was instantly drawn to the Center. After several interviews, I was hired onto the Senior Services team—the only position I applied for in L.A. Working at the Center, I get to do my part to keep our community from suffering the effects of systemic homophobia—something I faced as a youth in the Midwest. There are so many incredible people whom I have met and have worked with while in Senior Services and, more recently, as a member of the Center’s Special…
Author: Greg Hernandez
By Greg Hernandez When it comes to selling tickets for the one-man show To T, or not To T?, Jon Imparato has no trouble. In fact, the show starring transgender actor-writer-comic D’Lo at the Center’s Renberg Theatre has been extended four times due to high demand. But, getting any critics to review the show? Imparato, who serves as the Center’s Director of Cultural Arts, said he has had a mighty hard time. “It’s a trans masculine performer and that scares them,” Imparato said during the candid panel discussion Big Queer Convo: Queer Theatre Then and Now held November 11 at…
Short of an atomic fusion, volunteering is the only thing I know of where you get more energy out of it than you put into it. After some gentle prodding from a therapist treating me for PTSD, I began volunteering at the Center 18 months ago and discovered that I love it. Whatever work there is to be done—whether it’s unloading a truck, setting up tables and chairs, washing dishes, or stuffing envelopes—I enjoy all of it. The interaction with other people has been important to me and helped me to come out of my shell. I had been at…
I became a Los Angeles LGBT Center employee more than 15 years ago, but I wanted to work here long before that. In my previous job, I worked at a retail store around the corner from the McDonald/Wright Building where staff from the Center’s Health Services were my customers. I said to myself that one day I was going to be working with them as a medical assistant. I went back to school and ended up at the Center just as I had hoped. Advocating for my patients over the years has brought me such great joy and made me…
The location of the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Mi Centro may seem a bit off of the beaten path in Boyle Heights. But it turns out it’s a great place for a party. On November 16, the Center hosted a festive resource fair for the community that featured giveaways, Mexican food from Emily’s Tacos, and tunes from DJ Harlow. “We want to make sure the community knows about all the services that are available to them and that Mi Centro is their home,” said Caín Andrade, the Center’s social networks group coordinator. “They are able to drop in, say hello,…
Married since 2008, Mykel and Jeff Crerie both began volunteering for the Center earlier this year. Jeff is a graphic designer who also teaches part-time at a music college. Mykel, a sign language interpreter at a high school, is also co-advisor for the school’s LGBTQ+ club. “We have a history of volunteering together over the years such as the No on 8 campaign and Equality California,” Mykel says. “Volunteering at the Center gives us more opportunities to enjoy these moments side by side. Although my schedule allows more availability for me to do things solo, we always look forward to doing…
I first came to the Los Angeles LGBT Center as a sophomore in high school during the week of the Center’s annual Models of Pride youth conference. I was in search of a supportive community and attending the conference changed my life. I had never before been in a space where I didn’t feel like an outsider, where I could be my authentic self. After the event, I became a volunteer on the Models of Pride steering committee and, a year later, became a paid intern in charge of organizing the conference’s workshops. I soon became the assistant director of…
Johanna Clearwater has been looking for a place to work where she can be open about being a transgender woman and not face harassment. She found some possibilities on November 7 when she joined more than 250 job seekers at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Village at Ed Gould Plaza for the 11th annual job fair for trans, non-binary and intersex people. “I’m trying to be more forthcoming and work for companies that are for me and people like me,” said Clearwater, who spoke with four companies at the fair. “I had really bad experiences tied to my gender. I…
By Greg Hernandez There was raw emotion on screen and on stage when the short film Our Service, Our Stories had its world premiere on November 8 at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theatre. The 21-minute documentary explores the lives and unique perspectives of LGBT veterans ages 50 and older before, during, and after their military service. There are more than one million LGBT American eterans and more than 793,000 active duty and reserve LGBT service members. “I had never, until the film, talked about my discharge from the service,” said Neil Beecher, a member of the Center’s LGBT Senior Veterans…
By Greg Hernandez The Los Angeles LGBT Center joined hundreds of students, community leaders, and elected officials in MacArthur Park on November 12 to publicly show support of the federal policy known as DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments earlier in the day on whether to allow the Trump Administration to end the Obama-era policy that allows more than 700,000 young people who came to the U.S. as children to legally remain in the country to work and attend school. Nearly 40,000 LGBTQ immigrants are currently protected by DACA which was enacted in 2012,…