Working within and for the community. Interviews with Trans Wellness Center’s Mariana Marroquin, Center South’s Steven Campa and Latino Equality Alliance’s Eddie Martinez
BY MARK ARIEL | PHOTO BY DUSTI CUNNINGHAM
TRANS WELLNESS CENTER
“We are the community we serve, our stories make us unique, we are the fuel that powers us to keep doing what we do,” says Mariana Marroquin, Program Manager at the Trans Wellness Center, a division of the LA LGBT Center.
“I grow up in beautiful Guatemala. I spend half of my life there. I came to LA twenty years ago, afraid about my future, not knowing the language, leaving my friends and career behind… I lost my visa after a month of being here and I was undocumented for many years,” reveals Marroquin, a trans woman, in
an interview with THE FIGHT.
After deciding to launch a career serving her community Marroquin worked at Bienestar Human Services—“I will always be grateful for that life-changing opportunity,” she says—and later on joined the Los Angeles LGBT Center, eventually becoming Program Manager at the Trans Wellness Center.
“All those years of experience brought me to be the head of this important task,” states Marroquin. I am thankful to be part of a great team … we all bring our expertise and our own life experience to work.”
“We don’t take anything for granted, our endless fight continues every day and it comes along with the beautiful gift of living our truth,” says Marroquin.
“My hope is that one day my community will be able to simply focus on achieving their dreams and accomplish anything they set their mind on, like any other member of society.”
Services offered by the Center include medical and mental health, housing referrals, legal services, victim of violence services, youth services, senior services, employment, free clothes, hygiene items, among others.
For more info visit:
www.mytranswellness.org.
CENTER SOUTH
Center South, the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s first-ever expansion into South Los Angeles, is a safe space for LGBTQ+ community members to come in and access responsive and specialized LGBTQ+ services.
“Folks can access various services and have several resources within reach thanks to the support and assistance from very knowledgeable and compassionate staff,” says Program Supervisor Steven Campa.
“We have a very patient centered and holistic approach to help address your very unique and immediate needs. From medical and mental health services, sexual health and education programs that include HIV/STI testing, prevention and treatment, access to PrEP and PEP, and support with linkage to HIV-care and treatment if you are newly or recently diagnosed. We also provide referrals to substance use and addiction recovery services, housing navigation services, and access to food resources through a robust referral database to help you connect to other services not provided at the Center.”
As an HIV positive man Campa says that he feels that he can “connect better with HIV-positive clients … I have had to disclose to someone that they are HIV-positive, and I can assure you that the client leaves feeling very supported and heard. I make sure to also disclose my own status to them and really take the time to talk to them about things like stigma and disclosure.”
The most rewarding part of doing this type of work—reveals Campa—“is really being able to meet the community where they are at and understanding their needs… I want to see myself grow and expand within the Center just as much as I want to see Center South flourish within the community of South Los Angeles.”
Center South is located at 2313 W Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90008.
Phone: (323) 860-3799.
Follow Center South on Instagram @centersouth.
MI CENTRO
Mi Centro LGBTQ Community Center, located in Boyle Heights, is a partnership between the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the Latino Equality Alliance. Mi Centro opened in 2015 as there was “a need to bring LGBTQ resources and services to the Eastside communities of Los Angeles,” explains Eddie Martinez, the executive director co-founder of Latino Equality Alliance.
In addition to the youth and parent programming, Mi Centro provides HIV testing, legal services, and mental health support for the LGBTQ community. “A pride pantry is also held every Friday to help families experiencing food disparities. The collaboration between both organizations has been a great success for the Eastside LGBTQ community,” says Martinez.
“Our work focuses on power building and creating safe spaces for LGBTQ youth and families in low-income communities,” states Martinez. “We provide leadership development and academic success programming for LGBTQ youth in addition to the educational component for parents. Our advocacy work is to fight for the systemic changes that will foster a healthier and safer for LGBTQ youth and families.”
Martinez, who is also currently Vice Mayor of Huntington Park, says that his desire to dedicate his life to community service stems from his childhood. “At a very young age, I experienced bullying and unfairness from others which propelled me in life to be advocate for social change for the most marginalized individuals. What motivates me today in community service work is the positive impact it has on our youth and families. Knowing that we can help create a safer environment for LGBTQ youth in the schools, neighborhoods and in their homes is worth the fight.”
Mi Centro is located at 553 S Clarence St, Los Angeles, CA 90033.
For more info call (323) 285-7040
or visit: www.latinoequalityalliance.org.
