PALM SPRINGS
THE CENTER REOPENS ITS DOORS
The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert reopened its doors last month, after being closed during the remodel and rehabilitation of the 10,000 square foot McDonald/Wright building along North Palm Canyon Drive.
The Center held a ribbon cutting ceremony by staff and leadership who were joined by city officials. Among the guests and speakers at the event were Mayor Christy Holstege and Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Middleton. Audience members were invited to tour of the newly remodeled multi-million dollar facility, which now consist of the entire building. Construction started in April 2020. The first clients will be welcomed this month, according to reports.
SAN DIEGO
ACTIVIST TRYING TO HELP LGBTQ PEOPLE ESCAPE AFGHANISTAN
San Diego resident and LGBTQ activistand author Nemat Sadat, who lived in Afghanistan as a child, has compiled a list of some 500 LGBTQ people that he’s hoping to help to escape the country which sentences queer people to death. He is working with various international nonprofits, to help buy airline tickets, guiding them on how to get a proper visa and then also getting them to a safe house, reports ABC 10 News San Diego. He’s been searching for ways to assist them since the US military left the war-torn country. Sadat says after Taliban judges called for LGBTQ people to be killed, the Taliban have begun searching door to door. Sadat says he knows of some people who have disappeared or have been killed, while others have been severely beaten.
SANTA MONICA
AIDS/LIFECYCLE KICKS OFF 2022 TRAINING SEASON
AIDS/LifeCycle kicked off its 2022 training season to end AIDS on October 16th in Santa Monica. The first ride was a 13-mile route, from Santa Monica to Marina del Rey and back. The more advanced ride was a 37-mile route that ended at the Ballona Creek bike path and into South LA where the turnaround point was at the Los Angeles LGBT Center South. Center South hosted Rest Stop 2 and offering micro tours of their facility. The world’s largest single event HIV/AIDS fundraiser will return as an in-person event on June 5–11, 2022. The 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles benefits the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the HIV/AIDS-related services of the Center.
HOLLYWOOD
LA FUENTE TREATMENT CENTER CELEBRATES
16 YEARS
La Fuente Hollywood Treatment Center celebrated 16 years of serving the sober LGBTQ community last month. The addiction treatment center specialized in helping individuals who seek recovery to heal, strengthen and advance their lives, first opened its doors in October 2005. Manny Rodriguez, the CEO and Founder, first purchased the duplex house at 5718/5720 Fountain Avenue in 2004 and he opened “La Fuente, A Sober Community” sober living space in 2005 (two additional sober living apartments were added in the back in 2006). By 2011 La Fuente had transitioned into a treatment center licensed by CA Department of Health Care Services. 16 years in and the award-winning treatment center now offers an intensive inpatient / outpatient program while continuing to provide options for sober living spaces.
WEST HOLLYWOOD
MOTHER LODE GAY BAR IS OPENING SOON
West Hollywood’s historical Mother Lode Bar is currently hiring in anticipation of a grand re-opening coming soon. There are signs all over the bar’s storefront stating that it is NOW HIRING bartenders, barbacks, and security guards (California Guard card required). Resumes and contact information can be mailed to moloweho@yahoo.com. The bar was supposed to reopen when the other bars opened back in June, but the oldest bar in WeHo’s Boystown/LGBT Rainbow District, has been going through major renovations before they are able to re-open. The bathrooms in the back have been completely redone and currently there is still a lot of construction going on with the ceiling/roof.
