Q Center Grand Opening
At a morning press conference, AIDS Community Resources (ACR) announced the opening of The Q Center to serve Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth, ages 13 – 22. The Q Center is a significant expansion of ACR’s youth HIV prevention initiatives, and an outgrowth of the LGBTQ youth support group ACR and its volunteers have guided since 2000. The Q Center is the only organization offering a wide range of services specifically for LGBTQ young people in this area of New York.
“This outreach is long overdue,” said AIDS Community Resources’ Executive Director Michael Crinnin. “The United Way gave us money to provide support groups for LGBTQ youth, recognizing an unmet need in our community.” The Q Center expands services by seeing to the health and welfare of a segment of youth, some of whom are more likely to be homeless, to drop out of school, or to be harassed.
The Q Center is partially funded through United Way, the Onondaga County Department of Aging and Youth, the Gifford Foundation, the David Bohnett Foundation, and private donors. Staff and trained adult volunteer facilitators offer HIV education and testing, tutoring, a state of the art Cyber Center with computer literacy classes, educational and social events, drop-in counseling, and the “Express Yourself” Arts Program.
The Q Center needs financial assistance to keep the doors open, the lights on, and the facility attractive to LGBTQ youth. On Q’s wish list are items large and small, from a toaster oven to a leather sofa, a boom box to a digital camera. The Q Center needs volunteers: tutors, painters, counselors, computer experts, peers…
After years of anticipation, the Q Center is here. Let us know how you can help support this vital enterprise.