LGBTQ Center Orange County

The mission of the LGBTQ Center Orange County is to advocate on behalf of the Orange County lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and to provide services that ensure its well-being and positive identity.

The Gay & Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange County (EIN 95-2934041; DBA LGBTQ Center OC) was founded in 1971 and is the oldest LGBTQIA-centered organization in Orange County. Our organization celebrates 55 years of fulfilling its mission to advocate on behalf of the Orange County Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Question communities and provide services that ensure its well-being and positive identity. Over the last five decades, the organization has contributed to building a more inclusive Orange County by responding to the changing needs of our LGBTQIA+ communities through direct services while building capacity across sectors in our county to engage and uplift our priority communities through inclusive policies and practices.

While our mission has remained steadfast for more than 50 years, our programmatic implementation constantly evolves to best meet the most pressing needs of our community.

The LGBTQ Center OC focuses its work in Orange County, California. Our current programming includes:

· Mental Health Services—conducting 5600 sessions annually, services include individual, couples, family and group counseling, prevention education and community support groups.
· Trans*itions Health & Wellness—designed to accompany individuals through transitions by providing education, orientation to the process, insurance navigation, linkages to affirming care, and social support and advocacy. 1500+ served annually.
· Youth Programming—school- and community based programming to support positive youth development. The program reaches 3000+ annually through academic, employment, mentoring, scholarships, leadership development, and social programming.
· HIV & STI Services—prevention outreach, education, screenings and linkages to care and prevention (including PrEP) for 1150 clients annually.
· Immigration Services—outreach, education, and linkages to legal services for 5500+ individuals annually.

Through its programs, the LGBTQ Center OC bridges the gaps in culturally concordant health and social services for LGBTQIA+ communities and advances solutions to address the disparities in (1) education (2) employment, (3) health, and (4) in unjust application of legal and immigration enforcement among these communities, resulting from bias and discrimination. For most of our clients such discrimination is felt on multiple fronts because we serve a large percentage of LGBTQIA+ people of color and immigrants.

The LGBTQ Center OC works in intersectional spaces and our work provides the services and practical support that our community needs in order to be healthy and safe while simultaneously advancing equity by promoting positive health outcomes, leadership, and civic engagement creating more pathways to opportunity.

Bridge funding gaps in our Trans Health and Wellness program, to better support our Trans community by offering case management services, legal name and gender marker change clinics, and linkage to culturally competent healthcare.

Expand our services for our LGBTQ seniors who suffer from increased isolation when they enter assisted living facilities and are often forced to retreat back into an uncomfortable and isolated situation. Our seniors program is often their only social outlet.

Expand our youth services to reach beyond the 45 GSAs we currently support in Orange County. LGBTQ youth are at higher risk of feeling unsafe in school than their straight and cis peers. We know that when students see themselves in their school culture and feel a sense of belonging on their campus, they are more successful in school and have a better chance at attending college.

Provide assistance via our Immigration Resources department to support our LGBTQ immigrant community including those currently in ICE detention. Many LGBTQ immigrants flee their home countries because they are being persecuted for being who they are. We are one of the very few organizations in the country advocating for LGBTQ asylum seekers and helping them align resources so they can seek freedom.

We serve the community in and around Orange County, CA.

Complacency is not the friend of any social justice movement.  Although we have gained significant progress in LGBTQ rights since the Stonewall riots of 1969, we must remain diligent in our fight to protect our rights for the overall good of our community for generations to come. The LGBTQ Center OC is actively engaged in shaping policy at the national, state, and local levels. Our community depends on us to (1.) be the voice for queer people living in Orange County and (2.) provide the supportive services that ensure our community's well-being.

The LGBTQ+ community is made up of individuals from every race, ethnicity, religion, socio-economic background, level of education, gender identity, and consists of neurodiverse and abilities diverse individuals as well. Our community is the most diverse and inclusive of any underserved population. The LGBTQ community is also well known for its resiliency. I believe our diversity and resiliency go hand in hand - each enhancing the other.

When I see a Pride flag, I think of the many identities represented and how we come together to form an incredible community that only gets stronger with the passing of time.

I became involved with the LGBTQ Center OC because the LGBTQ civil rights movement hits close to home.  I am passionate in my belief that all people should be treated equally no matter what they look like, how they identify as a person, or who they love.  Diversity makes us stronger as a society and I will continue my involvement in this movement until LGBTQ people no longer face prejudice, stigma and discrimination that prevents us from reaching our full potential as individuals.