LGBT Community Centers Study

A new study reports that LGBT community centers provide vital services to over 1.9 million people annually. LGBT community centers have also increased revenue for 2013, allowing them to develop innovative new programs to serve youth, homeless populations, & transgender populations. The new extensive report released this week by CenterLink & the Movement Advancement Project (MAP) surveyed 111 LGBT community centers from 32 states, the District of Columbia & Puerto Rico. Both large & small centers reported increased revenue for a combined revenue of $138.1 million but the biggest concerns emerging from the survey data are the challenges facing small LGBT community centers. Smaller centers often operating in locations & communities that are least accepting of LGBT people, struggle with a chronic lack of resources & the ability to pay staff. Two in three small centers rely entirely on volunteers. Max Disposti, Executive Director of the North County LGBTQ Resource Center in California stated, “The first few months we were open, people would show up & break into tears. They could not believe there was a new center in downtown Oceanside, a few hundred feet away from Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base. People would come in & share their stories, of when you could get beat up in the streets for being LGBT. Just five years ago, North San Diego County was not the place to be if you were LGBT. There is still so much work to do, but at least now we are more visible, more understood & respected. We are here to stay.”
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