SAN DIEGO — The San Diego LGBT Community Center is celebrating 50 years of providing services to the San Diego County LGBTQ community.
"It’s decades in the making starting off as an answering machine in the utility closet in Golden Hill so it’s pretty exciting," said Senior Director of Development Ian Johnson.
The event brought out a large and vibrant crowd of community members, business leaders, civic leaders, and advocates including San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria.
“The San Diego LGBT Community Center is the second oldest and third largest center of its kind in the country," Gloria said. "San Diego has been in the forefront of LGBT equality for 50 years and that’s worth celebrating."
The nonprofit currently provides more than 80,000 service visits a year to the community. They help people get access to housing, behavioral health, support, immigration and more.
“This organizations saves peoples lives, for young people who are coming out and don’t have social support, people who are in need of health or mental health care, this organization fills those gaps," Gloria said.
"So what’s important about this event is it supporting or direct services that include housing, food services, mental health counseling youth services and it’s supporting our advocacy and civic engagement," said Johnson.
Johnson says the event offers a chance for supporters of the organization to see how they and the center continue to create meaningful change.
"As one of the largest LGBTQ centers in the country we’ve grown tremendously and it’s something that the community and our allies are The folks who have got us to where we are today," Johnson said. "I’m extremely proud, I’m extremely proud that the organization steps up to The needs of our community and just giving people the support they need."
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