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 History of the LGBTQ Center OC for over 50 years, the LGBTQ Center OC has been a resource for the modern LGBTQ movement, typically traced back to the infamous Stonewall riots between police and the LGBT community in New York City in 1969. Only a year after the riots, the first gay pride parades in U.S. history took place in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and New York, and by 1977, California saw its first openly gay politician, Harvey Milk.  Here too in Orange County, the 1970s saw huge growth in LGBT activity and organization. While decades past had established local LGBT hangout spots and a well-known gay community in Laguna Beach, the 1970s brought the organization of groups such as the Gay Liberation Front of Orange County, Cal State Fullerton’s Gay Students Educational Union, and Orange County’s first gay newsletter. Gathering momentum in spite of complaints and even threats, such collaborative efforts formed The Center OC as a volunteer group in 1971 and as an incorporated nonprofit in 1975. In these early days, The Center OC consolidated the efforts of several groups and offered social events, workshops (including one on Harvey Milk), and a resource hotline as its first programs.   Now, The Center OC is the second oldest gay and lesbian center in the nation, serving more than 10,000 LGBTQ and other clients annually. It was one of the first groups in Orange County to respond to the AIDS crisis and led efforts to address HIV/AIDS among Latinos, still offering English/Spanish services today. We are committed to serving people of all colors and cultures, and our staff and client demographics closely reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of our local community. The Center OC remains the most comprehensive health and social service organization specifically targeting Orange County’s LGBTQ community, and we are proud to serve not only the LGBTQ community but also their friends and family.  Looking forward, The Center OC is becoming even more active in advocating for the rights and well-being of the LGBTQ residents it serves. Whether readying a response to the forthcoming decision on California’s Proposition 8 or supporting LGBT immigrants, The Center OC is speaking out on critical issues important not only to our region but also to our state and nation. As we take a stand on these political, legal, and social issues, we hope to become a true CENTER for support, resources, and collective movement among the LGBTQ population in Orange County. 

The LGBTQ Center OC's mission is to advocate on behalf of the Orange County LGBTQ community,
and to provide services that ensure its well-being and positive identity.  While our mission has
remained consistent over the past several years, our implementation of programs and services
continues to evolve. We are actively addressing barriers to our services, so that we may support more
people in need of help throughout Orange County.
We continue offering all-important services for the LGBTQ+ and allied community through our core
programs supporting Mental Health, Youth, Immigration Resources, Trans Health and Wellness,
HIV/STI Testing, and LGBTQ Health Equity but it is our LGBTQ+ Advocacy work that has taken center
stage this past year. Dangerous Parent Notification Policies are being introduced by school boards
throughout Orange County, forcing teachers and school administrators to “out,” LGBTQ+ youth to their
parents. Forced outings are never appropriate but they are actually dangerous for youth who may not
live in affirming households. Our team continues representing LGBTQ+ youth in school board
meetings where their very safety is up for debate. We even take advocacy one step further by preparing
youth leaders to speak on their own behalf. We recognize that they hold a lot of power when speaking
from their own, lived experiences. We are committed to standing with them while we address
misinformation campaigns head on and demand safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth in Orange County
schools.

Expand our Trans services to support our Trans community by offering case management services 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. So therefore have more difficulty finding success in their education.

Assess our current and future programs with a racial equity lens to ensure we are serving the most marginalized people in the LGBTQ community, specifically people of color. Disaggregate data to better understand programmatic impact.

Immigration Resources 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 Orange County, CA.

The current political landscape has proven that complacency is not the friend of any social justice movement.  Although we have gained progress in LGBTQ rights, we must remain diligent in our fight to protect our rights for the overall good of our community. The LGBTQ Center OC is the only agency serving this community between San Diego and Los Angeles. With an estimated LGBTQ population of 350,000 our resources are always stretched. We maximize our resources to put an end to the discrimination of the most marginalized community within Orange County, including LGTQ youth and LGBTQ immigrants. Our clients are the most vulnerable citizens of Orange County and it is our mission to provide services that allow them to live and thrive in a safe and healthy environment. I’ve been asked a lot lately, “why do we need a Center now we can get married?” or “now we’re equal what does the LGBTQ movement have left to do?”  Achieving marriage equality was a historic gain, and it has created a false feeling of safety and equality. We fought so hard for marriage equality, for so long, and with such intensity that we have lost sight of the wide range of issues impacting our community.  Across a wide range of health and social measures: homelessness, hunger, poverty, disease,  unemployment, drug use, smoking, suicide, cancer, HIV/AIDS, obesity, our community suffers at rates between three to ten times higher than hetero community.  Here’s a quick snap shot. 40% of the homeless kids in major cities are LGBTQ.  Every day, in California, 100,000 LGBTQ youth live on the streets—that’s more than the population of Mission Viejo.  In California there are less than 200 beds dedicated to LGBTQ homeless youth.  In Orange County, there are none.  Poverty rates are incredibly high in the LGBTQ community.  The belief in the power of the “gay dollar” is a dangerous myth that clouds a frightening reality.  Even the highest earners in our community, white, gay male couples, earn 15% less than similarly situated hetero couples.  When one looks at lesbian headed households and trans headed households incomes are 40-60% less than similarly situated hetero households.  One fifth of LGBTQ households are raising kids; many of these families meet the federal poverty guidelines. The health disparities between our community and the hetero community are staggering.  The CDC reports a 132% increase in HIV infection rates among young men of color.  Tobacco is the number one killer in our community—we smoke at rates 4.3 times higher than the hetero community.  Injection drug use is 7.3 times higher in our community. We are vastly overrepresented among people infected with cancer, and while we might think we all go to the gym and work out, obesity rates in the LGBTQ community are higher than in the straight community as is heart disease and diabetes.  The LGBTQ community is at higher risk of more extreme and fatal COVID-19 infections due to the existence of pre-existing conditions adversely effecting our community coupled with lower rates of preventative health visits. These issues impact every one of us.  Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll look at these issues in more depth, and explore the lived reality of our community.  We can get married, and that’s important.  We’re represented on TV shows and in the media and that’s important.  Our community remains a minority group facing massive health concerns, violence, and poverty, and addressing these issues is vitally  important.    

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.