My name is Gloria Cruz Cardenas (she/they), Chief Impact Officer at The Center, and I’m here to ask you to give back to Your Center for Give OUT Day to strengthen our life-changing housing programs at risk. Give OUT Day on June 5 is a national initiative to support hundreds of LGBTQ+ nonprofits and schools across the country, and it’s a powerful opportunity to join us in uplifting our community.
As we near the end of our fiscal year, The Center is preparing to navigate financial challenges ahead, particularly the loss of critical funding in the County budget that directly supports LGBTQ-affirming housing and homelessness prevention services. These cuts threaten the very programs that provide safety, stability, and hope for our community’s most vulnerable members, which we are advocating to protect.
The Center’s housing continuum, including our growing Adult Housing Services, helps to address the housing crisis through homelessness prevention, emergency and short-term housing, and long-term permanent supportive housing, along with a network of support services focused on a whole-person model of care that helps people go from surviving to thriving.
In these critical moments, your support matters most. When the federal government turns its back on LGBTQ+ lives and when local policies fall short of protecting us, we’ve always turned to each other. For Give OUT Day this year, I’m calling on you to help us continue that tradition of resilience and collective care.
It is our community’s support and generosity that have paved the way for incredible progress and support systems. Even in the face of these threats, we have powerful reasons to celebrate the impact we’ve made together: Just last month, we proudly opened the doors of our new Safe STAY Wellness Center, a beacon of what’s possible when we unite. What began in 2019 as a four-bed shelter has now grown into a 43-bed LGBTQ-affirming safe space for transitional-age youth (ages 18–24) experiencing homelessness! This expansion makes Safe STAY one of the largest programs of its kind in the country and a historical win for LGBTQ+ youth in our region.
We are so proud to be celebrate this opportunity to better support our LGBTQ+ youth in need, and we are moved by the incredible generosity and community support behind it. This achievement is a testament to what we can accomplish when donors, staff, partners, and local leaders unite with a shared vision of care and determination.
Use Your Power: Donate and Advocate For LGBTQ+ Housing
Despite our gains, we have more work to do and now is your opportunity to take action. As funding gaps threaten our housing continuum, your support can fill those critical voids. Your gift today helps support housing stability in our community, protect vital programs, and ensure we build a future where LGBTQ+ people feel welcomed, valued, and supported.
You can also use your voice with us by attending a County Budget Hearing on June 3 at 9am and 5:30pm to urge the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to invest their public dollars in critical programs to protect LGBTQIA+ housing. Your voice is your power and now is the time to make it heard! More information and talking points are available on our website.
RSVP to let us know you’re attending: https://bit.ly/county-rsvp
We are so proud of what we’ve built together and hope you will join us in meeting this moment with urgency, heart, and hope.
In Community,
Gloria Cruz Cardenas (she/they)
Chief Impact Officer