| Houston GLBT Community Center | |
|---|---|
| Formation | March 23, 1996 |
| Headquarters | Houston, Texas |
| Website | http://www.houstonglbtcommunitycenter.org |
The Houston GLBT Community Center is a community center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies in the Houston metropolitan area and southeast Texas. The Center is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization and has been an approved IRS charity since 1997. According to the Center By-Laws, the Center's mission "is to empower, educate, and nurture individuals of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, generating a sense of community by providing for their social, emotional, and physical well being."[1]
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The Center provides programs in five broad areas:
The Center has a coming-out group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning individuals.
The Center maintains the John Lawrence and Tyrone Garner Scholarship Fund of the Houston GLBT Community Center. Every June, the Center awards these scholarships through the fund established in honor of John Lawrence and the late Tyrone Garner, who were the co-petitioners in the landmark Lawrence v. Texas case. The 2003 Supreme Court decision in that case overturned sodomy laws in the United States. The initial press conference after the ruling (with over 40 national and international media representatives present) was held at the Center and the rally at City Hall was organized by the Center.[5]
The Center also hosts monthly First Saturday Queer Bingo, as well as art shows on a regular basis at the Center and as throughout Houston.
The Center facilitates the quarterly Community Leaders Networking Group as well as the Houston GLBT Business Council.
It also provides low-cost and free meeting and office space to eligible nonprofits. Numerous Houston organizations have previously had office space at the Center, including H.A.T.C.H.; Houston chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (P-FLAG); Pride Committee of Houston; Q-Patrol; Greater Houston GLBT Chamber of Commerce; Houston GLBT Political Caucus; the Black Lesbian and Gay Coalition; the Texas Human Rights Foundation; Southern Poverty Law Center; and the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard. Ladies and Gentlemen of Art, a group focusing on African-American GLBT artists, currently offices at the Center, along with A Community United, a group focusing on providing housing on HIV positive individuals.[6]
The Center was founded as the Houston Lesbian and Gay Community Center in 1996 by a group of activists. The Center moved into its first facility at 803 Hawthorne Avenue in March 1998 during the administration of Brian J. Tognotti, the first president of the Center,[7] and moved into its current location at 3400 Montrose Boulevard in early 2003 during the first presidency of Timothy Brookover.[7] In 2003, the name and mission statement were changed to include bisexual and transgender people.[7]