Question: How Can I Find a Gay Community Center?

Gay community centers are places to connect with the GLBT community and meet other gay teens.

Answer:

A lot of GLBT teens feel isolated and want to make other gay friends. One really good way to meet others is through a GLBT community center. As the Guide to Gay Life explains, "Gay community centers are primarily privately-funded community organizations focused on providing services and programs for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Many GLBT community centers have become a social venue and safe haven for glbt youth and adults."

So how do you find a gay community center? One good way is through CenterLink, an organization dedicated to GLBT community centers. Their mission is:

"To support the development of strong, sustainable LGBT community centers and to build a unified center movement...CenterLink envisions a society that celebrates diversity, acknowledges the dignity of LGBT people, and embraces full human rights for all citizens. Furthermore, we envision a time when all LGBT people, in cities and towns of all sizes, have access to strong gay and lesbian community centers that enrich and improve our lives."

And while the organization can't connect every gay teen to a community, checking out their online directory of GLBT community centers around the world is a good way to find out if there is a something happening where you live.

Being a GLBT teen can present a lot of challenges, and reaching out to community can be one of the best ways to overcome a lot of them.