Long Beach’s largest LGBT supporters–including Mayor Bob Foster–were in attendance to hear The Center Long Beach provide their annual state address informing the community of exactly how the organization fulfills its mission.

That mission was the opening statement from President and Chairman of The Center Ron Sylvester, who further emphasized how the organization–even amidst the most trying of financial and administrative times–maintains its commitment the local LGBTQ community and, on the flipside, how the community itself continually looks towards The Center for guidance, education, and an accessible space.

In short: The Center’s incredible renaissance over the past year.

“Looking back, I think of 2012 as the year of ‘more’,” said Sylvester. “We added more programs and services, hired more staff, created more events, added more members, wooed more sponsors, attained much more visibility and relevance in the community and wrote and won more grants than in any year in recent memory. On the other side, in 2012 we saw more need for Center programs and services–[seeing] more people coming through our doors for many different reasons.”

The Center did indeed see an overarching expansion that took it to new heights. Beyond the increase in revenues–heightened by $200,000, about double the amount gained in 2011 and pushing The Center out of $97,000 in debt back in 2009–the organization oversaw an expansion of its programs, offerings, and needs: its widely successful culture and intellectual lecture series, QSpeak, which had its most successful year yet, ending with comedienne Julie Goldman; the 2012 QFilms was also the most successful year yet for one of SoCal’s most respected LGBTQ film festival; some 1,800 people visited The Center to take advantage of its free HIV testing; 300 people took part in their low-cost mental health counseling program; 75 unique youths visit The Center’s youth program, MYTE, each month, headed by Kyle Bullock (which saw some 150 teens get their Monster Ball on)…

And their front desk? It received 13,710 service requests spanning everything from housing referrals to program inquiries.

The Center’s reach isn’t just its own; it is an essential cog in the larger Long Beach community and its workings, as emphasized by Administrative Director Porter Gilberg.

“Like many in the non-profit world, we spend a lot of time in meetings,” he said. “While cherishing these particular moments may sometimes pose a challenge, we take pride in knowing that The Center and the Long Beach LGBTQ community are represented within dozens of local organizations, associations, and coalitions.”

Those various entities include partnerships with C.A.R.E., L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, the Long Beach Police Department, and the 2nd District Council Office in which The Center resides. It includes staff members who volunteer or serve on committees city- and countywide–the South Bay AIDS Network, the Department of Mental Health, the L.A. County Commission on Human Relations, County Youth Advocates Coalition, the LGBTQ Reducing Disparities Project–that help not just lend Long Beach voices to the larger community outside of our own city, but help brand The Center as a staple in furthering LGBTQ rights and issues.

This year will no doubt prove to also be fruitful, as The Center’s partnership with Behavioral Health Services will bring forth a comprehensive counseling program that seeks to combine HIV prevention with drug and alcohol counseling.

“We have an absolutely fabulous 2013 ahead and there is so much more we’d love to share with you… Our work is absolutely life affirming and life-saving,” Gilberg continued, “and would not be possible without the tremendously talented, dedicated, and hardworking staff here.”

That list included: Operations Manager Natalie Altman; Director of Health Services Ish Morales; HIV Testing Counsel Danny Batalla; Youth Program Manager Kyle Bullock; Chief Financial Officer Matt Cavanaugh; Clinical Supervisor Kerry Deeney; Service Navigator Jesse Jimenez; Outreach Worker West Seegmiller; and BHS Outreach Worker Nicolas Patino.

In the end, it is hard not to end on an overtly positive note–after all, through its roller coaster-like times, one of Long Beach’s largest cultural jewels is thriving in a manner that should make even the most cynical of community members beam with a slight sense pride. Perhaps even blush.

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