San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center
Encyclopedia
The San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center is a community center for LGBT
people in the city
and county of San Diego
.
San Diego's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center, which today serves 12,000 people a year, started with a telephone answering machine in Jess Jessop's house in 1971. If you had a question or problem you'd call the number and someone would call you back. A year later a group of dedicated San Diego lesbians and gay men gathered in a private home in Point Loma with the dream of creating a center for the city's lesbian and gay community. They met once a week for two years; everything was decided by consensus. During these two years of preparation, the group traveled to the Los Angeles Center to see how that year-old center operated, how it was financed, and what services it provided.
The answering machine was still around in 1972, but was moved to a room provided by the Metropolitan Community Church. Local bar owners donated money and gave fund-raising parties, and by September 1973, the first center was ready to open. It was originally called The Center for Social Services. The name was chosen because, at the time, it was believed that a name with "gay" in the title could have hurt the organization's ability to get the Internal Revenue Service's not-for-profit status. Also, in those years, donors did not like to write checks using the word "gay."
The Center's first home was a two-story, ten-room house at 2250 B Street in Golden Hill. The answering machine came along, and when a telephone man installed the equipment, he came out to them. Shortly thereafter he became a Center volunteer. From the start, the Gay Center focused primarily on military counseling and running a hotline. During the week, men and women met in self-development groups and one night a week they would party. The Gay Center moved several times. During a lean time, it was forced to move into a vacant garage, but the phone machine was never turned off!
After getting situated on Normal Street, the center was approached by the Gay and Lesbian Association of North County (GLANC) with the idea of opening a branch in North County. These funds continued to grow over the years with support from the North County Community. There were several large community meetings chaired by GLANC which included members of Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) In The Country, Lesbians in North County (LINC), and Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG), The Center and other groups interested in seeing the plans move forward.
Once fundraising efforts began, GLANC decided to provide a dollar-for-dollar challenge match to the community to increase the fund-raising possibilities. Within months the center raised the $70,000 needed to cover the start-up cost and 60% of first year expenses for the space in North County.
As preparation for the opening of a new building in North County, individuals offered their homes and hosted fundraising parties. These house parties served as a vital means to not only gain broad-based community support, but also to raise the capital needed to open the facility. Volunteers also played an important role in the opening of the North County Center, starting numerous office painting parties and developing programs and systems that would help manage the daily operations.
By late 1998, the Center began requiring extra space, as many of the programs had grown beyond the founders' expectations. When the opportunity to purchase the building at 3909 Centre Street came about, it was decided that the extra space a bigger building would provide was needed. In July 1999, the North County Center moved from Normal Street to Centre Street.
In March 2001, The Center North County moved to its new convenient location in San Marcos at 370 Mulberry Dr. This new facility allows The Center to continue to provide important services needed by our North County community.
Renovations on our Centre Street facility began in September 2002 and will be an important step in making The Center accessible to all members of our community.
January 2003, The Center began its 30th year of service to the San Diego LGBT community.
Now, The Center serves over 12,000 people each year, with over 400 volunteers and 50 staff.
Gay community
The gay community, or LGBT community, is a loosely defined grouping of LGBT and LGBT-supportive people, organizations and subcultures, united by a common culture and civil rights movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality...
people in the city
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
and county of San Diego
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
.
San Diego's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center, which today serves 12,000 people a year, started with a telephone answering machine in Jess Jessop's house in 1971. If you had a question or problem you'd call the number and someone would call you back. A year later a group of dedicated San Diego lesbians and gay men gathered in a private home in Point Loma with the dream of creating a center for the city's lesbian and gay community. They met once a week for two years; everything was decided by consensus. During these two years of preparation, the group traveled to the Los Angeles Center to see how that year-old center operated, how it was financed, and what services it provided.
The answering machine was still around in 1972, but was moved to a room provided by the Metropolitan Community Church. Local bar owners donated money and gave fund-raising parties, and by September 1973, the first center was ready to open. It was originally called The Center for Social Services. The name was chosen because, at the time, it was believed that a name with "gay" in the title could have hurt the organization's ability to get the Internal Revenue Service's not-for-profit status. Also, in those years, donors did not like to write checks using the word "gay."
The Center's first home was a two-story, ten-room house at 2250 B Street in Golden Hill. The answering machine came along, and when a telephone man installed the equipment, he came out to them. Shortly thereafter he became a Center volunteer. From the start, the Gay Center focused primarily on military counseling and running a hotline. During the week, men and women met in self-development groups and one night a week they would party. The Gay Center moved several times. During a lean time, it was forced to move into a vacant garage, but the phone machine was never turned off!
1980 Move
In 1980 The Gay Center, now renamed the Lesbian and Gay Men's Community Center, moved to its home at Fifth Avenue and Robinson. There, over a twelve-year period, The Center grew from one room for phone counseling to 12 rooms with 50 volunteers and a staff of nine serving 1,200 people a month. The problem was that it was bursting at the seams. The happy solution was the move to 3916 Normal Street in September 1992.After getting situated on Normal Street, the center was approached by the Gay and Lesbian Association of North County (GLANC) with the idea of opening a branch in North County. These funds continued to grow over the years with support from the North County Community. There were several large community meetings chaired by GLANC which included members of Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) In The Country, Lesbians in North County (LINC), and Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG), The Center and other groups interested in seeing the plans move forward.
Expansion to North County
In 1996, the center held an informal meeting in North County to see if there was enough broad-based interest to support expansion into North County. It was agreed by The Center's Board of Directors that they would need to already have most of the first year start-up costs prior to opening the facility, in addition to a fund saved for ongoing costs. To accomplish this, the community held a series of house parties to raise the needed money.Once fundraising efforts began, GLANC decided to provide a dollar-for-dollar challenge match to the community to increase the fund-raising possibilities. Within months the center raised the $70,000 needed to cover the start-up cost and 60% of first year expenses for the space in North County.
As preparation for the opening of a new building in North County, individuals offered their homes and hosted fundraising parties. These house parties served as a vital means to not only gain broad-based community support, but also to raise the capital needed to open the facility. Volunteers also played an important role in the opening of the North County Center, starting numerous office painting parties and developing programs and systems that would help manage the daily operations.
By late 1998, the Center began requiring extra space, as many of the programs had grown beyond the founders' expectations. When the opportunity to purchase the building at 3909 Centre Street came about, it was decided that the extra space a bigger building would provide was needed. In July 1999, the North County Center moved from Normal Street to Centre Street.
Youth Center
In July 2000, the Hillcrest Youth Center opened its doors and instantly became a much used resource for youth in the metro San Diego area. This new component of The Center is a safe and appealing place where youth can come and express themselves and meet others as well as gain access to social-service resources.In March 2001, The Center North County moved to its new convenient location in San Marcos at 370 Mulberry Dr. This new facility allows The Center to continue to provide important services needed by our North County community.
Renovations on our Centre Street facility began in September 2002 and will be an important step in making The Center accessible to all members of our community.
January 2003, The Center began its 30th year of service to the San Diego LGBT community.
Now, The Center serves over 12,000 people each year, with over 400 volunteers and 50 staff.