Posted on January 25, 2010, 2:21 PM, by Glennda Testone, under General.
The weather outside is pretty miserable today: it’s windy and raining. Now inside and drying off at the Center, I’m taking a few minutes to reflect. I sit on the Mayor’s Commission for LGBTQ Runaway and Homeless Youth as the Executive Director of the Center. Last week, we held a public hearing, and I listened to countless LGBT young people speak about being unable to find employment, adequate housing or even enough food. The stories broke my heart. It felt absurd to leave the hearing and go home to my apartment knowing that these youth will divide their time between Starbucks, McDonalds, the Apple store and anywhere else that they can sit and stay warm for a few hours.
It also makes me grateful to run the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. We’re open 365 days a year, most days between 10am-10pm, and I am proud to say we are able to provide a destination for these young people. Here at the Center, I’ve asked the entire staff to think about what the Center is, and what I’ve heard echoed over and over is “the Center is a safe space.”
Our very popular Youth Enrichment Services (YES) program offers over 25 groups a week designed to prepare young people to cope with emotional, social and economic stress. On a daily basis, an average of 52 young people attend Job & Scholarship Hour, Homework Help, and Come In/Step Out support group, as well as paid internships. We know that the need is great, but the Center is working hard to provide a safety net. Our programs are always growing, and I’m continuously in awe when I meet with the YES program and hear what they’re planning next. We’re not alone in this city, and we want our young people to know that. I’m grateful for our colleague organizations –Congregation Beth Simchat Torah (CBST), Ali Forney Center, Hetrick-Martin, GLSEN,to name a few — who are also committed to helping young LGBTQ people.
Watch this video of one of our young community members who recently spoke at a CBST LGBT Youth event
Posted on January 15, 2010, 3:06 PM, by Glennda Testone, under General.
Someone once told me that our community often demonstrates more care-giving than others because we’ve each experienced what it is like to be rejected and not supported. I don’t know if that’s true. I can think of several other communities that consistently express kindness, selflessness and resiliency. The truth is that compassion should not be a competition. In times like this, we all need to care more for others, not less.
Everyone has read about the devastating earthquake in Haiti and the efforts to provide support. Given the generosity of our community, it does not surprise me that the Center has received numerous calls from people who want to know how they can best help. Even at our weekly staff meeting, many expressed a desire to offer support, and we learned that our own Youth Enrichment Services Support Services Coordinator runs the nonprofit Unified for Global Healing. This organization is actively bringing doctors and support to people in Haiti; in fact, doctors from the organization are on the ground now. If you are one of those people who want to know how to help, please go to www.unifiedforglobalhealing.org to make a donation.
Our friends at AID FOR AIDS are also collecting medications that will go towards the relief efforts in Haiti. The Center has an AID FOR AIDS donation drop-off box located by the elevator in our lobby. For more information on the types of medications needed, please visit their website.
Thank you and I wish you all as much compassion as you each demonstrate, every day.
Posted on January 5, 2010, 5:59 PM, by Glennda Testone, under General.
Although I generally don’t have much faith in New Year’s resolutions, it is a new year, and I do plan to not take things for granted, as much. I must say that I feel like I have been relatively fortunate in my life: a good family, great friends, an apartment in a city that I love, and a job that allows me to help others. I do occasionally, as I’m doing now, stop and feel grateful for all of these things. But for me, the one element that is so natural it often goes unnoticed is the fact that I have a safe space to live and thrive.
This came into focus for me, once again, as I continued to read the chilling reports about the “Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009″ in Uganda. This legislation could impose death for Ugandans who engage in “homosexual behavior.” See The New York Times editorial from yesterday for more information. Even though my government does not protect me in all of the ways I know I should be protected, I don’t often think about the fact that my government does not want to kill me for who I am or who I love. Generally, when I walk around NYC holding hands with my girlfriend, I feel safe. These are not things to take for granted; they are to be cherished and protected.
As the Executive Director at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in New York City, I have the privilege of working everyday to help make sure all LGBT New Yorkers have a safe, healthy and happy place to go. This is also not something to take for granted. The fact that we, LGBT New Yorkers have a Center to gather, rejoice, mourn, strategize, organize and act is not even something all Americans can enjoy. For some LGBT New Yorkers, in fact, this is the only place they can be who they are and feel accepted. I, for one, plan to fully appreciate this space and use the energy created here to help lift up our entire community into a better and brighter 2010.
