Oakland LGBTQ center reduces services, seeks new funding after losing federal grants over its DEI focus

Before Sergio Ardila joined the board of the Oakland LGBTQ Group Center he was one of its clients Ardila who describes himself as a recovering addict attended his first Narcotics Anonymous meeting at the center in through its Rainbow Recovery effort and received rental assistance from the organization during a period of unemployment My story with the center is very personal Ardila noted I got involved to give back what the center has given Now because of in federal funding cuts at the direction of the Trump administration the center s services have either been scaled back or in the affair of the rental assistance cut entirely The center was notified in January that it would not receive funding because the organization was not in alignment with the administration CEO Joe Hawkins commented The LGBTQ center is among several nonprofit organizations across the country that have had their federal funding frozen or rescinded since the start of the second Trump administration As a end the center which serves more than people is no longer able to subsidize mental wellbeing services Addiction cure services have been significantly reduced and the center lost additional funding for its HIV prevention efforts The center was forced to lay off about half of its staff earlier this year about of employees according to Bay Area Reporter a free weekly newspaper serving the LGBT communities in the Bay Area Though the federal grants only made up a portion of the center s annual budget which Hawkins reported was around million last year President Donald Trump s anti-DEI executive orders have strained LGBTQ organizations and put pressure on philanthropic giving OAKLAND CA - JUNE Joe Hawkins left cofounder and CEO of Oakland LGTBQ Center and cofounder of Oakland Pride takes photos of Oakland LGBTQ Neighborhood Center that was vandalized in Oakland Calif on Saturday June According to particular bystanders a young skinny white male smashed the windows with a golf club Hawkins explained Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group More than six months after the funding loss the Oakland center is still dealing with the setback But leaders say they are finding creative techniques to move forward with new grants and locality endorsement When we started waving the red flag we knew that it was going to be pretty devastating for us Hawkins reported We just started reaching out to our supporters and they started coming through Hawkins and co-founder Jeffrey Myers opened the center in to serve Oakland s LGBTQ population The center describes itself as the first of its kind in California to be founded and led by Black men Related Articles Supreme Court weighs longshot appeal to overturn decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide Supreme Court lets Trump block transgender nonbinary people from choosing passport sex markers Wicked star Jonathan Bailey crowned People s Sexiest Man Alive New Pentagon program undercuts trans troops ability to ask to stay in the military AP learns Trump admin revokes pupil loan forgiveness for those who violate gender immigration policies Located in the Lakeshore LGBTQ Cultural District it operates a wellbeing clinic youth club library and food pantry and hosts a number of assistance groups Its website still lists housing assistance mental healthcare subsidies and addiction cure services but notes that they are on hold indefinitely While Hawkins hopes to bring these services back it remains unclear if it will be practicable The center has in recent times seen increased demand for its services Hawkins explained including an influx of LGBTQ people seeking a safe haven from familial rejection and immigration-related fears Ardila who works for BART and also serves on the board of the Lakeshore district commented the center is pouring every store toward services that are at the majority of basic level including a new transgender wellness center and satellite biological clinic in East Oakland We re really trying to save every penny he revealed While the center has shifted its funding to focus to operating the two clinics and remaining open as a gathering space Hawkins is still optimistic despite the losses The center received a grant from Gilead Sciences the HIV-focused pharmaceutical company that also sponsored Oakland Pride and has received additional financial sponsorship from Kaiser Permanente Zephira Milea of Berkeley lets out a big smile as she reacts to participants in the parade during the Oakland Pride Parade in Oakland Calif on Sunday Sept Jose Carlos Fajardo Bay Area News Group Hawkins noted his organization has refocused efforts on obtaining city and county grants While the center was forced to lay off about half of its staff earlier this year Hawkins declared he is now hiring for the expansion organization which will focus on applying for grants Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas who represents parts of Oakland revealed in an email that she s hopeful the center will qualify for a portion of about million in funding from Measure W a half-cent sales tax that pays for housing and homelessness programs among other services Hawkins and Ardila also reported the center has turned to more creative community-based forms of fundraising including a free billboard campaign and an option on the website to add the center to wills or trusts Individual donors have been our saving grace since the very beginning before we had staff and we were all supporters Hawkins announced The center has an increasingly crucial role in the district Ardila stated Even amid the funding uncertainty the new East Oakland satellite clinic has remained one of the group s major priorities because of all the attacks that the transgender population is receiving he explained Trump has issued executive orders attacking gender ideology and gender-affirming physiological care for minors I really hope the center can survive these four years Ardila announced I also hope that the country can realize the mistake that we collectively got into This story is part of The Stakes a UC Berkeley Journalism project on executive orders and actions affecting Californians and their communities