The LGBTQ Center Long Beach

The LGBTQ Center Long Beach advances equity for LGBTQ people through culturally responsive advocacy, education, programs and services, and it pictures a future of fully affirming communities where all LGBTQ people live in health, wellness, safety and prosperity. Its home on East 4th Street, with a bright mural across the front, grew out of a 1985 building purchase near 4th and Cherry that opened as the agency's new home in 1986, and the organization's roots go back to 1977, when people started gathering in living rooms to talk about issues that mattered to them. The Center was incorporated in 1980 as One in Long Beach, Inc., and it has used several names since, becoming The LGBTQ Center Long Beach in 2014.

The Center's history is tied to the AIDS epidemic. In 1984 it established Project Ahead, the first case management service in Southern Los Angeles County exclusively for people affected by HIV and AIDS, and today Health Services continues that work with free HIV testing and STI screening for syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia, nurse practitioner exams, and help getting started on PrEP and PEP. The team makes care accessible for LGBTQ people who are uninsured, underinsured or simply more comfortable away from their own providers.

Mental Health Counseling offers individual, relationship, group and family therapy for people ages 12 and up, in person or by telehealth, with a focus on trauma, anxiety and depression rooted in homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. Legal Services provides free, LGBTQ-affirming intakes with bilingual staff and interpreter services, a volunteer attorney clinic, name and gender change petition assistance, and direct help for survivors of any crime, including hate violence and intimate partner violence. The Healthy Relationships program adds crisis counseling, safety planning, case management and advocacy, reachable through its Warmline.

Young people and elders each have their own home at the Center. Youth and Family Services runs MYTE (Mentoring Youth Through Empowerment), a Tuesday drop-in for LGBTQ+ youth and allies ages 13 to 18, and works with the wellness centers of Long Beach Unified School District to create affirming spaces for students. Older Adult Services hosts Coffee Talk every Tuesday and Lez Chat on the first and third Saturday for people 55 and up, plus outings, speakers and a monthly newsletter.

Community is the heart of the place. More than 20 social and support groups meet every month, including Shades of Pride for BIPOC members of the LGBTQ+ community, the Gender Expansive group, Men Over 40, Men's Wrap, 20 Somethings, Polyamsupport and quarterly Heart2Heart Touch gatherings. The Cyber Center gives community members free computer time each day, the Gary Booher LGBTQ+ Library holds thousands of books to borrow, and workshops range from career counseling to a weekly watercolor class. The Center also produces the Long Beach QFilm Festival and the annual Black & White Ball, which honors local LGBTQ leaders and allies.

The Center is open Monday through Friday, with evening hours until 7:00 PM and until 9:00 PM on Thursdays. Call (562) 434-4455 or email info@centerlb.org to get started, or ask for Health Services, Legal Services or the mental health intake line directly. Front desk and special event volunteers keep the place running, and donations can be made online as a one-time or monthly gift.