WHITTIER — Whittier celebrated the grand opening of the new Greater Whittier LGBTQ+ Community Center on Saturday, a space that will offer services including mental-health counseling, support groups, substance abuse treatment, and educational resources.
Located at 7643 Painter Ave., the center is operated by the Los Angeles Centers for Alcohol and Drug Abuse (LA CADA).
The facility includes several rooms that are named after local LGBTQ+ leaders, including Downey Mayor Mario Trujillo, who is the first openly-gay mayor in Downey history.
“I’m emotional. I feel like I’m contributing just to help kids,” said Trujillo. “They’re going to be able to come here and be safe, talk to people, and get services. You wonder if they have anybody to talk to about what they’re going through.”
Trujillo, who came out when he was 32, noted his own personal struggles, adding that centers like the one in Whittier are needed.
“I considered suicide, briefly though,” he said. “Thank God I’m not one of those ones that actually carried it through; it was real quick, and I love life too much.”
“I just needed somebody to talk to,” he added. “It was a tough process; you feel isolated, embarrassed, ashamed.”
Funding for the facility came from a $4.2 million state grant secured by Assemblywoman Lisa Calderon. The space was provided by L.A. County.
“As we continue to show our support to the LGBTQ+ community, our most important role in the county of Los Angeles is to be a safety net, to care for those on the margins,” said L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn. “If it’s anyone who knows what it’s like to live on the margins, it’s our LGBTQ+ community. From churches, to school libraries, to their own homes, LGBTQ+ people everywhere – even right here in LA County – continue to be told that they don’t belong, or tone it down, or to keep it only in certain neighborhoods.
“In the face of that exclusion and hate, our LGBTQ+ community has time and time again chosen joy, love, [and] inclusion. While others try to tear down and divide, they continue to say, ‘Yes we can, yes we will,’ and that’s the spirit we’re bringing here today.”
