Happy Pride Month! As your Assemblymember, I am proud to present resources committed to supporting and empowering our LGBTQ+ community. Below, you will find state and district-specific resources committed to helping you navigate your identity, provide a safe space and fight against LGBTQ+ discrimination. Together, we are building a more inclusive and supportive environment where diversity is celebrated and every individual can thrive with dignity and pride.
Rainbow Community Center
The Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa County was founded in 1995 to build community, equity, and wellbeing among members of the LGBTQIA+ in the Bay Area. They provide community mental health services(925-692-2056) and provide LGBTQIA+ youth with temporary housing by providing hotel vouchers and financial aid. Learn more at Rainbow Community Center.
Oakland LGBTQ Community Center
Founded in 2017, the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center is a non-profit, multi-ethnic, intergenerational LGBTQ+ community center that offers support groups, housing assistance, food pantry, mental health support, a lending library, sexual health testing, and more. Founded and led by two African Americans, this center is committed to being all inclusive and intersectional in its community building. Learn more at Oakland LGBTQ Community Center.
Pacific Center
The Pacific Center is the oldest LGBTQIA+ center in the Bay Area and focuses on providing mental health assistance to the LGBTQIA+ and QTBIPOC community. They operate a sliding scale mental health clinic, mental health support groups for HIV+ people, safe-space drop-in youth programs, and training programs for Bay Area companies and agencies to adopt more culturally responsive practices. The Pacific Center serves around 3,000 people a year through various programs. Learn more at Pacific Center.
Rainbow Families Bay Area
Rainbow Families is a parent-led organization dedicated to supporting transgender and gender diverse kids. Young people are connected with other gender diverse youth which helps them build a community and gain an understanding of what it means to question their gender identity. This program also connects youth to older non-cisgender people so they can ask important questions to someone who has personally experienced questioning their gender identity. This group hosts various play and support groups throughout the Bay Area primarily in Berkeley and Oakland. These meetups are meant to expand understanding of non-cisgender people for parents and build a community amongst the kids. Learn more at Rainbow Families Bay Area.
Mind the Gap
Mind the Gap provides gender-affirming care services with an emphasis on youth and adolescents. The organization vets and lists LGBTQIA+ friendly providers of therapy and medical services such as gender-affirming care. The medical providers listed all specialize in treating LGBTQIA+ people and are able to provide valuable care such as prescribing blockers and referring people to doctors to perform gender-affirming surgeries. Other services this organization provides are pro-bono legal services which can allow queer youth to be placed with LGBTQIA+ friendly families after being taken out of the foster system or allow queer people to report instances of discrimination and take legal action against it. These resources are all listed on their website and are available in a variety of locations across the Bay Area. Learn more at Mind the Gap.
TGI Justice Project
A non-profit organization dedicated to ending discrimination against gender-variant people in California prisons with a specific emphasis on Black trans women. The current CEO of this organization is Janetta Johnson, a Black trans woman who was incarcerated in a men’s prison. This organization's goal is to reduce the disproportionate harm the criminal justice system inflicts upon the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities by providing employment to formerly incarcerated Black trans women and providing legal services to make it easier to change your name. Learn more at TGI Justice Project.
Transgender Law Center
Since 2002, the Transgender Law Center, the largest trans-led national organization, has been advocating for everyone’s right to self-determination. The organization is based in Oakland but has operations all across California that are focused on providing support services to disabled trans people, trans people in more conservative areas and trans youth. This organization also provides legal help filing discrimination suits and setting beneficial legal precedents like with Macy v. Holder which was the first federal appellate court ruling in 2012 that protected trans students under federal law. Learn more at Transgender Law Center.
Brotherhood
Brotherhood is a group for Black Trans-masculine people, providing services like referrals to healthcare providers, community events, mentorship, and care packages. They also provide guides to which housing shelters are transgender-friendly, and which churches are inclusive. Learn more at Brotherhood.
Our Space
Our Space is a program for LGBTQIA+ youths aged 13-24 in Alameda and Marin County, run by Side by Side. Our Space serves LGBTQIA+ youths in the foster care system, through providing services such as school peer support groups, mental health management, LifeSkills workshop, intergenerational community building activities, and paid youth leadership opportunities. Our Space also runs a physical community center with a food pantry, a gender-affirming closet, and drop-in hours. Learn more at Our Space.
Richmond Rainbow Pride
Richmond Rainbow Pride (RRP) is a local group of LGBTQQ people and allies who live or work in Richmond. RRP works with the city, Richmond’s Human Rights Commission, and other organizations to fight for the interests of the LGBTQQ community in Richmond. RRP also organizes cultural events and art projects to increase visibility and pride within the LGBTQQ Richmond community. RRP meets monthly. Learn more at Richmond Rainbow Pride.
RYSE Center
The RYSE Youth Center began in Richmond in 2008 and is dedicated to serving Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, Youth of Color (BIYOC). RYSE believes in centering creativity and providing a safe space for Richmond’s youth to heal in a youth-centered, equitable environment. RYSE’s programs focus on education justice, health justice, and media, arts, and culture. RYSE also offers summer programs with paid internships and field trips. RYSE has served over 10,000 young people in its 15 years being open, and around 15% of these youths identify as LGBTQ+. Learn more at RYSE Center.
CUAV
The Community United Against Violence (CUAV) project began in 1979, working to create safer communities for LGBTQ people, and assist them in their healing. CUAV offers peer advocacy counseling, healing through art and mindfulness, self-defense classes, and Survivors Advocating for Freedom programs. CUAV works all across the East Bay and San Francisco area.
Project Open Hand
Open Hand delivers meals to those living with HIV/AIDS, seniors, and otherwise ill individuals. Founded in 1985 in San Francisco, Open Hand expanded to providing meals in Alameda in 1989. Project Open Hand now provides 2,500 meals daily, and around 200 bags of groceries. Learn more at Project Open Hand.
GAPA
The GLBTQ+ Asian Pacific Alliance (GAPA) was founded in Berkeley in 1988 and serves to organize and provide for Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQIA+ individuals in the Bay Area. GAPA engages in political and social advocacy to protect their community’s interests. Learn more at GAPA.
Bay Area Open Minds
Bay Area Open Minds is an organization of psychotherapists who serve LGBTQIA+ clients and are gender identity affirming. Open Minds is also committed to antiracism and using an intersectional framework in all of their work. Learn more at Bay Area Open Minds.
BALIF
Bay Area Lawyers For Individual Freedom (BALIF) is a group of LGBTQI+ legal professionals that was founded to help LGBTQI+ people become judges, lawyers, or otherwise involved in the legal field, but now assists the LGBTQI+ community more broadly with legal issues and discrimination. BALIF offers scholarships, mentorships, a job board, and access to legal help. Learn more at BALIF.
ALRP
AIDS Legal referral Panel (ALRP) is an organization dedicated to representing those living with AIDS. These legal services can include helping clients keep their homes, gain citizenship, get access to healthcare, protect or regain jobs, and protect their assets. ALRP serves Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Solano, and Sonoma counties. 80% of their clients are extremely low-income, and 59% are from communities of color. Since their founding in 1983, ALRP has handled over 98,000 cases. Learn more at AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP).
California State Agencies for LGBTQIA+ Resources
Government Alliance on Race & Equity (GARE) established this webpage of LGBTQIA+ resources to share with employees and their families. The commitment of CDCR and CCHCS is to be LGBTQIA+ friendly and supportive of all individuals in our communities, both inside and outside prisons. Learn more at California State Agencies for LGBTQIA+ Resources.
California Department of Public Health – LGBTQIA+ Health
CDPH has resources available that can assist you in determining what screenings are necessary at each stage of life and to understand which health issues impact the LGBTQIA+ community most often. These resources will provide you with the tools you need to be the healthiest you, at every phase of life. Learn more at California Department of Public Health.
California LGBTQIA+ Health and Human Services Network
A statewide coalition of non-profit providers, community centers, and researchers working collectively to advocate for state level policies and resources that will advance LGBTQIA+ health. California LGBTQIA+ Health and Human Services Network strives to provide coordinated leadership about LGBTQIA+ health policy in a proactive, responsive manner that promotes health and wellness as part of the movement for LGBTQIA+ equality. Learn more at California LGBTQIA+ Health.
Center Link – Community of LGBTQIA+ Centers
Serves local and regional communities. The mission is to strengthen, support, and connect LGBTQIA+ community centers. Currently there are over 290 member LGBTQIA+ centers worldwide providing essential services, promoting growth, wellness, and connectivity in their communities. Learn more at Center Link.
California Community Colleges – LGBTQIA+ Resource Guide
Provides available resources to community college students statewide. Learn more at California Community Colleges.
University of California – LGBTQIA+ Resource Centers
Offer programs and services to enhance community and provide support for LGBTQIA+ faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Learn more at University of California.