Just, uh, don’t call it a bail out. Which technically it isn’t. It’s a safety net. [SF Chron]
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Lady Ga-Gasp
Its such a funny thing — a place where no one goes, but no one is willing to surrender to reality and shut it down.
Its like the San Francisco Chronicle.
J
@Lady Ga-Gasp: Im sure, based on your post, that you don’t go there, But Im also equally sure you must not be the only LGBT person in the entire San Francisco Bay Area.
I’d be comfotable putting a wager on the fact this place serves more then nobody. It may be people you would never associate with, but they’re still people none-the-less.
I’m glad the city bailed out the C.C.’s mortgage. I would imagine a great number of people who do utilize this place are homeless LGBT or LGBT youth, and the youth need this place. They need a place to go when everyone else they know turns them down. It has the ability to create a support system that LGBT youth desperately need, especially when ostricized by their own family.
Saving the S.F. LGBT C.C. is a good thing.
I like this.
Lady Ga-Gasp
@J: You can imagine all you want, but the reality is no one goes there, and their callous and constant claims that they serve “gay youth” of color blah blah blah is just a facade. I have spent a lot of time there, and it is a white elephant, poorly designed, and grossly underutilized.
J
@Lady Ga-Gasp: Well then, you spending a lot of time there… clearly SOMEBODY uses the place. And letting it fail provides no opportunity for it to redesign itself and reorganize itself into something more useful for the entire LGBT community it serves. Regardless of what purpose it serves right at this very second, it has potential to be something the S.F. LGBT community could really utilize in many different ways. Join the board if you want it to be something different then it already is. If I lived in S.F. and had experience serving on boards of directors, or a possible ear on the board, I would try to find ways I could HELP make it a better place. Do the same, or STFU. No one wants to hear what your can’t do, we want to hear what you can do. Optimism isn’t necessarily a bad thing Darling. Letting it fails means it wont be there when the need arises. That would be a big fail for the community it wants to serve.
MikeSLC
I don’t think the problem is the gay community center doesn’t do anything for the gay community in SF; the problem is that public money went to assist a non-profit organization.
If the center is so important and does so many things for the gay community why can’t it stand on its own two feet from donations within our community.
If let’s say.. the asian center, or hispanic center, or straight center ran into trouble will the board of supervisors will come to their aid as well?
Lady Ga-Gasp
@J: Its “STFU” nasty “activists” like you that cause far too many gay orgs to fail. The vinegar outweighs the honey, honey. If you knew of what you spoke, you would know the list of lgbt orgs that steer away from the center is very long. The GLBT Historical Society, Frameline, and many others. There is a reason. No loan will fax that, only a folding and re-birth with the right uses, and the right people. Not half-baked professional non-profit types who spend their time and our money self-promoting and chasing trendy program ideas that no one is interested in.
Independently Minded
@J: Sorry but your arguments are built on houses of straw. As somebody who understands the non-profit sector very well I happen to know that a large number of them in SF SAY THEY HELP THE POOR AND THE LGBT YOUTH! WHERE ARE THEY???
San Francisco’s non-profits for the most part have been proprietary ponzi schemes using taxpayer dollars to cushion the members who are employed by them. They have zero accountability whatsoever. They have not in any way demonstrated what they have done for the public.
The LGBT is no exception. I say it is time to shut this place down and put the money towards something more worthwhile like fixing MUNI and prosecuting all the seedy politicians, nonprofits, and city departments who raided their slush fund.
Independently Minded
@J: Sorry but your arguments are built on houses of straw. As somebody who understands the non-profit sector very well I happen to know that a large number of them in SF SAY THEY HELP THE POOR AND THE LGBT YOUTH! WHERE ARE THEY???
San Francisco’s non-profits for the most part have been proprietary ponzi schemes using taxpayer dollars to cushion the members who are employed by them. They have zero accountability whatsoever. They have not in any way demonstrated what they have done for the public.
The LGBT Center is no exception. I say it is time to shut this place down and put the money towards something more worthwhile like fixing MUNI and prosecuting all the seedy politicians, nonprofits, and city departments who raided their slush fund.
Erik
As a Youth Program Coordinator at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, I want to thank those on this board that are showing support for our programs and to the tremendous help that the SF board of supes has given us. This loan will allow is to focus more of our engery fundraising for our programs, especially our Youth Program @ the Center.
If you are unfamiliar with our Youth Program I want to invite you to check out a summary on our website (sfcenter.org/youth.php) or become friends with us on facebook or myspace (username: sfcenteryouth) or youtube (youtube.com/lgbtyouth) to see our work and how we engage San Francisco queer youth.
Truth is our program is small but we do a lot of work with what we have. We have an active partnership with San Francisco Unified to provide an LGBTQ studies class to high school students, facilitate a community service learning course at a local academy, serve hot meals to homeless and marginally housed youth every week, have creative and performance art programming and put on San Francisco’s only queer prom every June.
These programs are necessary and I want to dispell the myth that San Francisco is a safe haven for all queer young people. Sure, San Francisco may be ‘safer’ than say some places in the mid-west but there are still many problems. Homophobia is pervasive in all our cities and San Francisco is not immune. If you look at stats come from SFUSD, 80% of high school students still hear anti-gay language used frequently and LGBTQ youth are still more likely to be suicidal than their heterosexual peers and have poorer physical/mental health outcomes. And this doesn’t even touch on research on homeless SF LGBT youth… And yes, 80% to 90% of the youth that we serve are queer youth of color.
If you have questions or concerns regarding our Youth Program, I would be happy to speak to you. You can contact me via email: [email protected]enter.org If you want to know more about the city loan I want to direct you to our response to the misinformation spread by various news sources: http://gltnewsnow.com/2010/03/11/san-francisco-lgbt-center-responds-not-in-foreclosure-no-bailout-sought/
Thanks so much!
jpsf
@Lady Ga-Gasp: Nice try.
It seems that most of those who have nothing good to say about the Center have absolutely no idea of what they do and its impact.
The GLBT Historical Society actually recently approached the Center for their proposal to be hosted at the Center. Frameline offers bimonthly free screenings at the Center and collaborates with its women’s community initiative for film events.
It also has partnerships with New Leaf Services, AIDS Health Project, LYRIC, UCSF, Dimensions, Shanti, Our Family Coalition, COLAGE, Jumpstart, Aguilas, Jewish Vocational Services, Larkin Street Youth Services, API wellness Center, National Center for Lesbian Rights, etc.