Supervisor Janice Hahn and Rep. Lisa Calderon announced a joint effort to establish the first LGBTQ+ community center in Whittier on Wednesday, June 28. (Photo courtesy of the Office of Supervisor Janice Hahn)
A new LGBTQ+ community center in Whittier will celebrate its grand opening on Saturday, Sept. 21, officials announced.
In October, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn’s motion to accept millions in funding for the project.
The center is funded by a $4.2 million state grant, which was secured by Assemblymember Lisa Calderon, D-Whittier.
“This new center is proof of what we can achieve when we work together,” said Hahn in an email newsletter Saturday, containing the announcement.
The grand opening ceremony will be from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 21 at 7639 Painter Ave., Whittier.
The LGBTQ+ Community Resource Center will be housed in an L.A. County building, which has not been operational since the coronavirus pandemic. The single-story building is 2,694 square feet.
“For too long, the greater Whittier area has gone without a dedicated space for the LGBTQ+ community to gather and have easy access to free resources,” Hahn said in her newsletter.
The center will fill a critical gap in care for LGBTQ+ support and services in L.A. County, according to Hahn, who represents the 4th District, which includes Whittier.
Whittier residents would have to travel to surrounding cities, including Long Beach and Los Angeles, for the type of services that the center will offer.
Resources provided at the center include support groups, substance use disorder treatment, mental health treatment, legal assistance, age-appropriate youth programs, educational workshops, information and referral services. It will also provide cultural programs, social events, community outreach and volunteer opportunities.
Leaders said the center will give LGBTQ+ members a space to feel safe amid anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and legislation, which have spiked dramatically in recent years.
The idea of an LGBTQ+ center in the Whittier community is not new. The City Council in July 2020 voted to find out how much it would cost to make available the old Police Department building for offices for nonprofit groups, including a LGBTQ center.
While the center will offer mental health and behavioral health services, the center itself will not be a medical facility.
The Los Angeles Centers for Alcohol and Drug Abuse (L.A. CADA) will operate the center on behalf of the county.
L.A. CADA is a non-profit that provides healthcare to underserved populations, including individuals who identify as LGBTQ+.
The $4.2 million grant helped fund the renovations necessary to update the building. The interior needed new electrical, plumbing and new furniture. The exterior needed to be refreshed with paint and new signage, according to Hahn’s office.
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Jenna Mindel is a 2024 California Press Foundation Internship Grant finalist, reporting for the Southern California News Group. She is a 2024 graduate from Biola University, majoring in journalism. She also really likes Dr. Pepper.
