As a volunteer Information Specialist at The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, I pride myself on greeting people who visit the Center, ensuring they feel welcomed in the space, and answering any questions they may have. Volunteering is something I very much look forward to every week. I am inspired by all the amazing work the Center is doing. An example of that was the day after the 2016 presidential election. I was scheduled to volunteer at the front desk at The Village but was feeling down and out-of-sorts. The Center hosted a rally that same evening to help the…
Author: Kelly Freter
By Greg Hernandez The marginalization, discrimination, and stigma lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women face when accessing health care is a public health crisis most women face alone…until now. More than 60 volunteers gathered on a recent Sunday to help the 2.5 million LBQ women in California get access to culturally appropriate health care without having to face such things as homophobia and biphobia. Currently, there are currently no targeted state funds to address the health needs of LBQ women anywhere in the United States. “I have a client who is going to have a hysterectomy,” Nurse Practitioner Angie Magaña,…
By Greg Hernandez Usually when Chaunte Wayans is center stage, it’s at a comedy club. But the stand-up comedian shared a different part of her story during a recent visit to the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Intensive Day Outpatient Program. The intensive abstinence-based program meets for three hours, five days a week. Facilitated by professional substance abuse counselors, it’s designed to help clients with mental health challenges and substance abuse problems, including alcohol, cannabis, crystal meth, and cocaine. Wayans was invited as a special guest speaker to share about her substance abuse and how meditation has played a key role…
By Greg Hernandez The Los Angeles LGBT Center joined immigration rights allies and other LGBT groups to rally in support of an updated DREAM Act as it was being introduced across the country on March 12. The Dream and Promise Act of 2019, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Democratic Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, sets a path for permanent legal status for people who once had conditional status in the U.S. but who now face deportation. It extends protections for recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The Trump…
I wanted to make a difference in the community. So I challenged myself to giving 100 hours in a year to the Center. Now, I’m hooked! For my day job, I work as a paralegal within the Office of the General Counsel at Farmers Insurance. I am part of the Farmers LGBT & Allies Employee Resource Group, where we work to elevate LGBT+ considerations within the workplace to ensure a secure and inclusive environment for all. I’m lucky because my employer really values corporate social responsibility; I have always felt supported in my community efforts. I learned a lot more about…
On the morning of June 2, thousands of cyclists will depart Cow Palace in San Francisco for a seven-day, 545-mile journey to Los Angeles on AIDS/LifeCycle, which raises money for San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the HIV/AIDS-related services of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Through 2018, AIDS/LifeCycle participants have raised more than $262 million. For anyone who wants to take part in what many describe as a life-changing experience, training, and fundraising should begin now. “Now is really the time to commit and decide to do something incredible,” says Cailin Lafontaine, director of the Southern California Office of AIDS/LifeCycle. “Now…
By Greg Hernandez Sable Boruff doesn’t have to spend money on greeting cards because she spends a few hours creating her own at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s art lab each week. “I make cards for all my friends, for their birthdays and all the holidays. They love my cards. Making them is very creative, peaceful, and fun,” Boruff says, as she works alongside about a dozen other seniors on a recent Friday morning. Participants can bring in their own projects from home or work or learn a new technique in drawing, painting, or sculpture during the lab, held from…
By Greg Hernandez Ambassador Carlos García de Alba, the Consul General for Mexico in Los Angeles, credits his career as a diplomat for teaching him to be open-minded and welcoming. “Traveling the world you understand the beautiful diversity of human beings,” he said during his first-ever visit to the Center’s Trans Wellness Center (TWC) over a Valentine’s Day lunch with more than 30 TWC clients and staff members. “It’s an amazing thing to realize that everybody’s different and that you have to give respect to everybody if you want to be respected.” TWC, a community-based partnership between the Los Angeles LGBT…
By Greg Hernandez On a recent visit to the newly-equipped music studio inside the Los Angeles LGBT Centers’ bustling Youth Center, members of the philanthropic group Women Helping Youth (WHY) were moved by what they saw…and heard. “We walked in and there were young people with headphones using beautiful new microphones and it all looked very professional,” recalled WHY member Liz Abbe. “They each had the opportunity to sing what they wanted to sing then they played it back and it sounded great.” It was a $15,339 grant from WHY that paved the way for the studio to become a…
By Greg Hernandez RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Gia Gunn is teaming up with the Trans Wellness Center (TWC) to make a splash at this year’s DragConLA. “It’s time we all get excited about being trans,” Gunn said to a roomful of clients during a visit to TWC to announce her participation. “My mission is to bring joy, happiness and inspiration and to get our allies and people on the outside excited about transgender people.” Gunn is known for competing on the sixth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, the second season of The Switch Drag Race, and on the fourth season…