Season of Pride

In honor of Pride Month, we celebrate the many organizations throughout San Diego and Imperial counties that work daily to serve the needs and interests of those who make up our LGBTQ+ communities.

In particular, we would like to highlight North County LGBTQ Resource Center, our FY2021 Mission Support grantee. In a recent interview with Executive Director, Max Disposti, we learned that Pride is actually more like a season rather than a month, which Max describes as a “Season of Pride.”

For those not intimately connected to the LGBTQ+ community, you might find it interesting to learn that Pride is celebrated in June throughout many communities across the U.S., however in San Diego, the Pride Parade has historically been held in July. For more ways to celebrate and support the regional LGBTQ+ community throughout the year, the South Bay area of San Diego typically celebrates Pride in September, and Palm Springs typically celebrates in October.

This year, North County LGBTQ Resource Center will join resources with San Diego Pride for a march on July 11 and some rallies instead of the full parade that has been historically held each July since the early 1970s.

When describing what Pride Month means to him and North County LGBTQ Resource Center, Max said “It’s a time to celebrate history; look at our accomplishments and challenges ahead – a period of assessment. It’s also a time of celebration and sorrow, especially after the many losses due to Covid-19.”

Supporting, empowering and advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and its members is what the North County LGBTQ Resource Center’s mission is all about. It envisions a community where everyone lives in equality, feeling accepted, valued, safe and free from social stigma.

North County San Diego is a large territory for the LGBTQ Resource Center, which covers Encinitas, Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido, Rancho Bernardo, Fallbrook, Camp Pendleton and other outlying areas, including Temecula and Riverside since these areas don’t have resource centers.

 

Celebrating not only Pride this year, but also its 10-year Anniversary, the North County LGBTQ Resource Center is proud of its many accomplishments and services. We invite you to visit their website for more information: https://www.ncresourcecenter.org/

Of the many services provided, Max shared a few that have significant impact:

• Mental Health – the Center has a team of professionals and offers free therapy sessions. They also provide sensitivity training for providers on how to work with the LGBTQ+ community.
• Unicorn Homes – 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+ and family rejection is the top reason they are on the street. Through the Unicorn Homes program the North County LGBTQ Resource Center is able to match youth with temporary housing and wraparound services (bus passes, mental health, link to services) through a network of amazing families. This program is currently privately funded and because of its success, the County of San Diego is paying attention to how it can be replicated. (Note: According to the 2020 Homelessness Crisis Response System Data & Performance Report: Unaccompanied youth made up the largest subpopulation of “Persons Who Entered Homelessness for the First Time in 2020.”) This program also helps LGBTQ+ seniors who are sometimes one setback away from becoming homeless.
• Competency Training – the North County LGBTQ Resource Center gets called often to work with police departments throughout North County, providing awareness training on how to interact with youth on the streets.

The North County LGBTQ Resource Center will be celebrating their 10-year Anniversary on October 10 with partner, Leichtag Foundation, at the Foundation’s beautiful setting in Encinitas. Visit the Center’s site  and sign up for information.

Thank you and Happy Pride Season to Max and the entire team and board of directors of North County LGBTQ Resource Center for your tireless work for the community!

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