By Greg Hernandez (Published in Fall/Winner 2022 Issue of Center’s Vanguard Magazine) Earlier this year, a 65-year-old man showed up to the Center’s pharmacy in a state of disarray. He had bandages on both of his legs from a bad fall, and came to the desk with tears in his eyes. “He had cataracts and couldn’t read the prescription labels of the medications he had brought with him in his brown paper bag,” says clinical pharmacy coordinator Tam Phan in sharing his encounter with a patient living with HIV and unmanaged high blood pressure. After speaking with the patient, Phan learned…
Author: Reid Nakamura
Joe Hollendoner Hometown: Chicago, Illinois Year Started at the Center: 2021 Title: Chief Executive Officer The most rewarding part of working at the Center is seeing the impact that we are having on our community. Whether it is when I walk around the Anita May Rosenstein Campus or visit one of our community sites like Trans Wellness Center, I see the joy and resiliency of our clients. Truthfully, there is not a single day that I don’t get to witness a young person or senior accessing our services light up because they can be their authentic selves in a space…
By Reid Nakamura (Published in Fall/Winner 2022 Issue of Center’s Vanguard Magazine) Last November, the Los Angeles LGBT Center celebrated the opening of the 70,000-square-foot Ariadne Getty Foundation Senior Housing building—a triumphant accomplishment after years of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. At last, the Center’s goal of creating an inter-generational housing complex for LGBT youth and seniors was fulfilled, resulting in the completion of the ambitious Anita May Rosenstein Campus. The opening of the new building, which added 98 affordable housing units for seniors, was hailed by then-CEO Lorri L. Jean as “a powerful reflection of the Center’s mission to…
By Joe Hollendoner (Published in Fall/Winner 2022 Issue of Center’s Vanguard Magazine) I began my tenure as CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center in July, just as our community began to face yet another public health crisis: human monkeypox. The first case of monkeypox was diagnosed in the United States in May, and within a few weeks, cases were being identified in major cities across the U.S., including Los Angeles. By July, it was clear that—just like with HIV/AIDS—gay and bi men were being disproportionately affected, and our community would once again need to come together to protect ourselves. The…
By Reid Nakamura Models of Pride returned to Los Angeles City College in full force this year, commemorating its 30th year with live music, world-famous drag queens, and 100 life-enriching workshops for LGBTQ+ youth and their allies. “I can already tell you this is going to be one of my favorite events of the year,” Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Joe Hollendoner told the crowd of youth attendees in his opening remarks. Hollendoner addressed the audience from a stage set up on LACC’s elevated rainbow track. Installed in 2019, the painted track was conceived as a tribute to artist Gilbert…
By Reid Nakamura The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Senior Services department held its first senior showcase in September, a celebration of the department’s vast array of groups, classes, and programming. The event gave participants a stage and a microphone to tout the work they’ve produced, highlighting everything from tai chi and tap dancing to vocal performances and poetry readings. “It’s both showing off all the amazing things our seniors are doing and making sure that the community is aware of all the different offerings that are available,” said Michael McFadden, Senior Services’ associate director of programs. The department is planning…
Election Day is right around the corner, meaning it’s all hands on deck at the Leadership LAB. The Los Angeles LGBT Center’s deep canvassing operation is currently knocking on doors in Buena Park, working to mobilize voters in one of the country’s most hotly contested congressional districts. Below, Leadership LAB field manager Eden Mayle answers five frequently asked questions about the LAB’s work in the weeks leading up to the midterms. What is the Leadership LAB? We’re a program of the Center’s Policy and Community Building department that specializes in voter engagement using a tactic called deep canvassing, which we…
By Dan Allen Helping those in need began early in young Caín Andrade’s life. “That’s how I was raised, to always be in service to others,” he said. “Any job that I have is usually centered around helping others.” Driven by a desire to help the unhoused LGBTQ+ community, Andrade first joined the Center five years ago. He was soon recruited by director of strategic initiatives Alan Acosta to assist at the then-newly opened Mi Centro location, a partnership with the Latino Equality Alliance serving the community in Boyle Heights. “This is my community,” Andrade said. “I feel part of…
By Reid Nakamura The premise is simple and ripe for parody: A panel of celebrities answer fill-in-the-blank questions, and contestants try to match their answers. The Match Game, one of TV’s most enduring and iconic game show formats, first debuted on CBS 60 years ago and has held a place in pop culture consciousness ever since. The MisMatch Game, comedian Dennis Hensley’s uproarious spoof of Match Game, likewise has a storied history of its own. Hensley put together the first edition of MisMatch Game more than 20 years ago as part of a “big, silly” birthday celebration, trading the original…
By Reid Nakamura In one of the first few moments of the documentary A Run for More, Frankie Gonzales-Wolfe announces her candidacy for San Antonio City Council before a room full of family and supporters: “For the last 23 years, I saw politician after politician who just didn’t look like me, didn’t speak like me, wasn’t like me. But I supported them because I always felt like they were the right candidates to represent me and be my voice at the table,” she says. “Well, now it’s ending, because I’m going to be my own voice at the table.” Directed…