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Gay support center to open in Central West End Aug. 29
(by Rebecca S. Rivas - August 27, 2008)
When Muriel Jones “Blue” came out to herself as a bisexual — and she clearly makes the distinction that it was “to herself” — she was in one of the most ideal, loving settings.
She had the support of her friends in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender assembly at University of Southern California, where discussions groups and information were easy to come by.
A native East St. Louisan, she returned to her home in 2001, where she encountered its youth, and elders, without the resources or support network she had once enjoyed.
Seven years later, she’s happy that she can provide a place for the LGBT community to call home. At 7 p.m. Aug. 29, Jones and her partner Shan Lewis will host a grand-opening party for the new LGBT Community Center at 625 N. Euclid Ave., Suite 420.
“The depot of resources,” as Lewis calls it, has two meeting rooms and a multimedia library. The intention is for this to be a safe place where organizations and individuals can host gatherings and workshops, do research, display artwork or share art forms.
Now that the center has an actual location, Jones would love to see people snuggle into the comfy couches and have the kinds of conversations that can change a person’s life.
“There’s nothing like sitting in a room of folks, feeling safe and having the most profound, mind-expanding conversations,” Jones said. “You leave feeling refreshed.”
Every Thursday Jones would attend and participate in just those kinds of group meetings at USC, where participants would laugh and learn together.
“I want to see that happen — and it happens already,” she said. The center gives people the opportunity to choose the various organizations and programs they want to participate in.
One of the center’s potential collaborative programs is a discussion group that brings elders and youth together. SAGE Metro St. Louis, or Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders, incorporated as a not-for-profit organization this year and has talked about working more with the center to help unite the community.
“There is a great deal of ageism in the community and, in general, it will make the community stronger to connect our generations,” Jones said.
SAGE is one of the organizations available to the St. Louis community, but these kinds of resources aren’t always easy to find, Lewis said.
Unlike Jones, Lewis did not find all the support and answers she wanted when she left East St. Louis for college. Her university in Michigan had a less active LGBT advocacy scene. When she returned to St. Louis, she learned about BASL, the Bisexual Alliance of St. Louis.
For Jones, finding BASL was just the start of her mission to create a comprehensive catalogue of all the services in the area. She dreamed of a way to bring them all together.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to have a place where they all could meet or at least gather information?” Lewis said.
When Lewis and Jones met, Jones told her about her experience as the executive director of an LBGT community center at USC and what it entailed. Lewis suggested they try to establish something similar in St. Louis.
What finally sealed their commitment to opening a center was the 2004 Creating Change conference; the National Gay and Lesbian Taskforce hosts a conference of this nature annually.
After the conference ended, local St. Louisans who had volunteered at or helped organized the event held a meeting; about 50 of them joined the community center committee. As time passed, the number of key organizers dropped off to just a handful. Then it was just Lewis and Blue.
At the center’s opening, Lewis plans on having a sign that lists all of the goals that the LGBT community has had in the past and notes which ones have been met and which ones need more attention.
For the past four years, Lewis and Blue have maintained a website that served as a meeting place. Then they obtained a grant from the William A. Kerr Foundation for seed money and two years of operation of the community center. The local community took it from there, Jones said, by making large contributions of furniture, books, media and money.
“The community did this, but the youth and the elders brought the fire,” Jones said, referring to her interns and veterans of the LGBT community.
She also said that they could not have opened the center without the help of the 200 or more LGBT community centers throughout the country.
“Making connections with other cities and states has allowed us to be more efficient,” Jones said. Rather than duplicating work, they have sometimes been able to borrow guidelines and ideas from other centers, she said.
• For more information about the center, call 367-1166 or visit www.findmycenter.com
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