Imperial Valley LGBT Resource Center

The Imperial Valley LGBT Resource Center has served the LGBT community of Imperial County since October 2015 from its center on Ross Avenue in El Centro. Its mission is to create a safe place and empower the LGBT community by connecting people to essential resources. Services are free of charge, except court-ordered programs, and the center is open to everyone, including neighbors from Mexicali and straight and cisgender visitors.

Weekly support groups anchor the calendar: a transgender and nonbinary group with a Spanish-language session, the Safe Space Group open to all, a youth group for ages 12 to 17, a mental health support group and a group for family and guardians of LGBT people. The center also offers low-cost individual and family counseling and free, confidential HIV counseling and testing, with walk-ins welcome.

For people referred by the courts, the center runs Domestic Violence and Anger Management classes, a Youth Anger Management (YAMS) group, and an Intimate Partner Violence Program for LGBT people who are or may be in abusive relationships. Resource pages, many in English and Spanish, cover HIV and STIs, hepatitis B, hate crimes, mental health, and legal, undocumented and citizenship questions.

The center also brings people together for community events such as its Haircut-a-thon fundraiser and the Queer Fashion Art Show. Volunteers keep the center running: they staff the front desk, welcome visitors, help at outreach and health fairs, facilitate groups and join committees. Donations are accepted through PayPal and Venmo.