"My Community Center Changed My Life"
2009 Featured Testimonials

Margaret Cho in Los Angeles, CA

Photo courtesy of Margaret Cho

"Maybe I have a bit of bias because I work at the Center, but everyday that I walk through these doors, I am encouraged. I see the members of this very diverse community meeting in a place they take pride in and support in whatever way they can. Every time I see a new person enter the front doors, I feel the sense of comfort and calm they have in finding a place where they can be themselves. It is that solace that lifts me up. I know that because our doors are open, we have saved lives, we have kept the movement going and we ignite hope in people that may not otherwise have had it."

Bruce Vilanch in Los Angeles, CA

Photo courtesy of WeGotBruce.com

"in addition to being gay, i am a member of several other minorities.   i'm blonde, i'm allergic to cats and i'm jewish.  of the four, i have been  a member of the last one the longest.  when you grow up jewish, you learn  that many people hate you and that you have to learn early on to take care of  yourself and your family because you really can't count on anyone else.  history teaches you that, as well as daily life.  when a group of very  brave and forward-thinking friends of mine started the los angeles gay and  lesbian community services center back in the paleozoic, pre- aids,  pre-marriage, pre-parenting, pre-military era, it struck me as being the  most jewish thing i had ever heard of -- an organization that takes care of its  own.   gay people weren't famous for that back then.  as the  closet has gotten smaller, the center has gotten larger.  we serve a wider  range of people with a more diverse set of services than my founder friends ever  envisioned.  we do it because They never will and we're here to stay. life would be nice without a They.  life would also be nice without the bad  cholesterol, but it ain't gonna happen.  meanwhile, we've got each  other."

"I came out to a gay friend in the early 1990s.  I was interested in learning about who I really was, but afraid of the consequences (my family’s reaction, public reaction, etc.).  Part of me wanted to go out to the bars and “check out the scene,” like I did with friends at straight bars, but the other part of me was afraid of what I would experience.  My friend was more helpful than he realized, because he knew I was not confident in coming out and naïve of the bar scene.  He recommended (or should I say insisted) the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Baltimore.  I called the Center and after a lengthy conversation, they recommended I attend a youth support group.  I nervously attended my first meeting, concerned about my lie to my parents of where I was going and what I was going to encounter.  I happened upon an open and understanding group of people – with similar situations and problems with people who knew what I was going through and understood.  I became less afraid of the consequences of coming out.  I also met many new friends, several of which I am in touch with to this day.  One friend in particular invited me to the Hippo (a local gay bar) to meet his boyfriend’s best friend, who was single.  With the confidence from the youth group, I met them one Saturday night and ended up dating his friend for several years."

"The GLCCB of Baltimore provides a safe haven for the GBLT community to interact with one another. This is why I choose to use their computer lab facility. I frequent the GLCCB weekly because of the friendly and stress free environment. The ability to surf the web without distraction or loud interruption allows for a sense of calm peace that is felt throughout the center. Their helpful and attentive staff is readily available and I always feel like family instead of a patron. It also provides me with a safe place to go when I feel unwanted or unloved at my residence. The community center is very important and the expansion would help a lot of people in my community."

Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner in Los Angeles, CA

Photo courtesy of Lily Tomlin & Jane Wagner

"We’ve long been involved with the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, both as supporters and as volunteers.  Ernestine has even appeared at several Center events!  We support the Center because we have seen first-hand the valuable contribution it makes to the health and strength of our community.  Friends have used the Center’s services,  and we have regularly attended its cultural arts events.  In fact, we were proud to collaborate with the Silva Watson Moonwalk Fund to establish the Lily Tomlin Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center at the L.A. Center, which presents top-notch, illuminating live theatre, art exhibits, and other events.  Revenues from these productions benefit the HIV/AIDS-related and other services of the Center.  We are fortunate to live in a city that has a vibrant and active LGBT community center and we join them in celebrating national LGBT Center Awareness Day!"

ANT in Los Angeles, CA

Photo courtesy of AntComic.com

"I remember it vividly.  It was 1986 and I had just moved to Los Angeles.  I was driving down Highland Ave. when I noticed a pale pink building with an upside down pink triangle above the front door.  The address was 1213 N. Highland Ave.   It was the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center -- on one of Southern California’s busiest streets.  There it was -- in plain sight -- for everyone to see!  Wow.  Coming from Londonderry, New Hampshire, you would never see something so bold proclaiming anything gay.   I wasn’t exactly “Out” and the thought of being discovered terrified me.   But there was something so profound in the statement that that building and the people inside it made to me.   I am here.  I live out in the open.  I will not go away.  I am here for you.  Visibility is our greatest strength.  The Center is our shining example of that strength.  I came out that year."

"I am from Harrison, NY – a town about 30 minutes from Manhattan, but unlike “The City”, it was (at the time)HH a very conservative place, severely lacking in diversity. On top of that, I was raised in an uber-Catholic home. When I finally figured out what was different about me, it was June of 1981. I had just graduated from high school, and like so many gay people, when they first “know”, I was in desperate need of a place to find some good old gay culture and community.

After mustering up the strength to come out to my cousin, the social worker, she sent me the The Loft in White Plains, NY.While it was not a fancy place, the people and resources were invaluable. I will never forget the welcoming environment, their immediate acceptance, and the willingness to answer my questions. I was at the very beginning of my journey, and for the first time I didn’t feel like I was living on a deserted island. Thanks to them, I didn’t just get the basic information I needed, but with their help, I soon found out where all the gay discos were! That, my friends, was the beginning of the rest of my life.

While I did not necessarily spend a lot of time at The Loft, I know that I may have had a very different, more difficult, and much longer coming out process if they had not been there for me. Today, after 28 years of living a very special life as a gay woman who is completely out at work, to friends, and with my extended family, I now proudly serve on the board of CenterLink and have only gratitude to The Loft and places like it. I’m truly overwhelmed by the number of LGBT community centers around the country and the tremendous and necessary work that they do in so many small towns and big cities for our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender loved ones, and for our families. A community center changed my life, and I’m proud to support the work that they do for so many others."