We’re so excited to share the big news!
We’re Moving!
Check out all the details about our new location in our press release and watch this space for more details to come!
This amazing next chapter in our LGBTQ+ community members lives needs your support!
Please click here and donate what you can to help support the creation of our new space!
Click here to read our press release
Rendition/Photo Credit: Hickok Cole, our architects on this project
If you are facing a life threatening situation or seeking immediate care:
DC Mobile Crisis: 202-673-9300
DC Shelter Hotline: 202.399.7093 or 311
Maryland Mobile Crisis: 240-777-4000
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
LGBTQ under 25: Trevor Lifeline: 866-488-7386
LGBTQ National Help Center (all ages – various lines/hours): 888-843-4564 www.glbthotline.org
Taking guidance and recommendations about social distancing from the DC government and the CDC, effective Monday, March 16th, The DC Center for the LGBT Community’s office will be closed. Staff are still working remotely, and will be checking emails and voicemails multiple times each day. Please reach out to supportdesk@thedccenter.org to connect with the DC Center, as we are still able to provide services and support.
If you are interested in attending support groups remotely, please reach out to your facilitator or supportdesk@thedccenter.org and we can provide options for remote meetings using conference lines.
The situation is changing rapidly, please refer to the CDC’s website and coronavirus.dc.gov for up-to-date information on what you can do to help prevent and slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The DC Center team will be meeting regularly to assess the situation and rest assured that we will open as soon as it is safe to do so, as we know that many of our clients and participants are vulnerable and will need support. If you are able, please consider donating and supporting organizations that provide food, medicine, and other support to marginalized populations.
If you are facing a life threatening situation or seeking immediate care:
DC Mobile Crisis: 202-673-9300
DC Shelter Hotline: 202.399.7093 or 311
Maryland Mobile Crisis: 240-777-4000
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
LGBTQ under 25: Trevor Lifeline: 866-488-7386
LGBTQ National Help Center (all ages – various lines/hours): 888-843-4564 www.glbthotline.org
*** Hello friends,
In order to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus, the DC Center is closed effective Monday, March 16th. To protect the health and safety of everyone we have decided to postpone our health and wellness festival, we will no longer have the event on March 28th , a new date will be decided in the future. Please consider how you can help delay the spread of coronavirus by consulting sites such as https://coronavirus.dc.gov/ for more information. ***
Due to unfortunate circumstances, we have been forced to reschedule our Wellness Expo. Join us on Saturday, March 28th for our first-ever DC LGBTQ Health and Wellness Expo.
Please click here for the updated event information, and if you have previously registered there’s no need to re-register. Thank you for your patience. If you have any questions please email supportdesk@thedccenter.org.
Sexual and gender minority Veterans have faced stigma and discrimination, which can affect health. As a healthcare institution, we need to work to make sure that Veterans with LGBT and related identities know that they are welcome at VA.
There is an LGBT VCC at every facility to help you get the care you need. Contact the LGBT VCC at your nearest facility.
VA health care includes, among other services:
As a result of stigma, stress, and discrimination, Veterans with LGBT and related identities face increased health risks and unique challenges in health care. We want you to be comfortable talking with your VA providers about all aspects of your life, so we can offer you the best care possible.
Learn about health risks and why you should talk to your provider about your sexual orientation identity, birth sex, and self-identified gender identity in the fact sheets below.
Information from the US Dept. of Veteran Affairs.
Center Military. We are exploring the possibility of a a peer facilitated monthly support group for military folks on active duty and first-responders (Fire, EMS, Police, etc). This group may also be open to veterans based on feedback from the community. If you are interested, please fill out the form below.
To learn more about Center Military, visit thedccenter.org/military. You can also find us on facebook at fb.com/centermilitary or twitter.com/centermilitary.
It has been a tradition continued in some form or fashion every Veterans Day since 1989. LGBTQ Community members have gathered in the Congressional Cemetery at the grave of Sgt. Leonard Matlovich on Veterans Day to remember his service and sacrifice, and honor all our LGBT Veterans and Service Members.
Despite 12 years of exemplary service and receiving a Purple Heart, the Air Force demanded his discharge simply because he was gay. Sgt. Matlovich made history when he came out and was the first LGBT person on the cover of Time Magazine in 1975. This year’s service was organized by James Thonley, a USA and USMC Veteran who was himself investigated for “homosexual conduct” while serving our country.
Nearby the grave you can find the gravestones and markers of many notable LGBT activists including Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings. Next to his grave, the LGBT Fallen Heroes Fund has purchased land to build a permanent memorial to all our fallen LGBT veterans and service members.
The Congressional Cemetery is believed to the world’s only cemetery with a LGBT Section. In the 1980s and 1990s when the AIDS crisis gripped the LGBT Community, the Congressional Cemetery was one of the few cemeteries in the nation that would inter victims of the AIDS epidemic.
This year Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Ann Murdoch had the honor of laying the wreath. Previous individuals who have had this honor include Lt. Dan Choi and David Merrill.
See video from the service below. You can also see pictures from the event on the Center Military Facebook page at facebook.com/centermilitary.
Opening Remarks were provided by Luke Dier, Chairperson of Mayor Bowser’s Veterans Advisory Board. The invication was provided by Bishop Allyson Abrams. Readings were shared by Tiera Craig and David Mariner, Executive Director of the DC Center for the LGBT Community. Taps was performed by SGM (Ret.) Ginger Turner. Closing Remarks were provided by Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Eric Burns.
Thanks to everyone who made this year’s event possible.
Stay Connected
Center Military, a program of the DC Center, is a resource for LGBT Service Members, Veterans, and their families. Find out more at thedccenter.org/military. You can also find us on twitter at twitter.com/centermilitary or on facebook at facebook.com/centermilitary.
Support this Work
If you would like to support work like this at the DC Center for the LGBT Community, make a donation here.
Learn More.
Learn more about Frank Kameny here.
Learn more about Leonard Matlovich here.
Learn more about Barbara Gittings here.
The LGBT Fallen Heroes Fund Fund has signed the contract and made a down payment to buy the sites that we will eventually hold the LGBT Fallen Heroes Memorial at the Historic Congressional Cemetery. The LGBT Fallen Heroes Fund works to identify and honor those fallen LGBT Law Enforcement Officers, Firefighters, EMS, and members of the Military who have dedicated their lives to their communities and give recognition to their survivors.
The memorial will be located in what has become a special location at the cemetery, where several LGBT community members are remembered. The memorial is steps away from the gravesite of Sergeant Leonard P. Matlovich, a vietnam veteran remembered for bravely coming out as gay on the cover of Time Magazine in 1975. The site is adjacent to the memorial marker for LGBT civil rights pioneer and veteran Frank Kameny.
An annual service to honor LGBT Veterans takes place every year at the cemetery on Veterans Day.
Other individuals memorialized at the Cemetery include Barbara Gittings (Daughters of Bilitis, The Ladder); Alain Locke (hailed by many as the father of the Harlem Renaissance); and Peter Doyle (believed by historians to have been the greatest love of gay American poet Walt Whitman).
While the deposit has been made on the memorial site, the LGBT Fallen Heroes Funds will be making monthly payments for the site for the next two years. To make a donation to support this important work, visit their website at lgbtfallenheroesfund.org.
