Help keep the Center open. We need money to pay for Rent, utilities and other basic operating costs. The center has a monthly budget of five thousand dollars a month. We are asking everyone who wants to keep the doors open to make a monthly donation of at least ten dollars. If we can find five hundred people willing to give this minimum amount we will be able to meet our goal.
On a Sunday night, at The Garden Nightclub in Des Moines, Iowa, over $1400 was raised for The Center, a resource center that serves the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans-gender, Questioning and Inter-sex
(LGBTQI) community of Central Iowa.
January 31st was the date, and the evening involved over 3 hours of entertainment for local favorites from the LGBTQI community such as The Gay Men’s Chorus, Champagne Showers, Coco Cabernet, Crystal Frost, Chloe Chardonnay, Stephanie Steele, Stinketta Beaverhausen and Mike Scoonover. The event was emceed by local personality Mike Miller.
The Center also used the event to honor DART bus driver Sherrie Taha. Taha made a crucial 911 call while on duty that helped save a man who was trapped outside in frigid temperatures with no shoes, socks, or coat. The timeliness of Taha’s call helped prevent the man from amputation.
Approximately 100 people attended the event, including Des Moines Mayor Frank Cowniee.
The Center is a resource center whose mission statement reads “The Center will provide a voice and visibility to the underserved and under-served LGBTQI community, their supporters, and families in Central Iowa, to work with progressive, supportive, and allied groups to strengthen all of our work.”
The Center has a facility that is open for group meetings of all kinds within the LGBTQI community. Current organizations that meet there are Progress Coalition of Central Iowa (PCCI), Women’s Cultural Collective (WCC), Transformations Iowa (Transgender Group), LBGT Aging, Dykes of the Roundtable (Women of Color), Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), TABU (Gay men of color), and Rainbow Youth and Allies (25 yrs and under). The Center is a safe place for support groups in the areas of coming out, transgender, bisexual, lesbian, LGBTQ Elders, and grief support.
Volunteers are encouraged and appreciated to contribute their time, thoughts, and monetary contributions to The Center, located at 1300 Locust St., Des Moines, Iowa 50309. Ph. # 515-243-0313. Thecenterdm@gmail.com, www.equalityiowa.org
The Center is a 501©3 non-profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.
The Center’s Sunday night fundraiser at the Garden nightclub was a huge success. Between the donations at the door, the raffle and the silent auction the event raised just over 1,400 dollars. The money will help keep the Center doors open. It will pay for rent, utilities and other costs.
The Center would like to extended a huge thank you to all of the people who made the event possible, the performers (of course) the garden for providing it’ the space, the volunteers and all the donors.
Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie talks about the Center
Many within the gay community have written off Obama’s comments about repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) this year. Now Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has announced that he will lay the Pentagon’s plan for repealing the unpopular policy next Tuesday, at a Senate Committee hearing.
DADT prevents military officials from directly asking servicemen or women about their sexual orientation, but does not prevent the military from discharging gay servicemen and women. The policy, which was instituted over fifteen years ago, forces those members of LGBT community who wish to serve their country, to do so in silence. It has long been criticized by the gay community, and increasingly by members of the military command as well. High ranking Pentagon officials have complained, off the record, that it is a failed policy.
Now they may have their chance to speak more publicly. The plan laid out by Secretary Gates on Tuesday will not be ambitious. Speaking on CNN he said the Pentagon will move “very, very cautiously” in implementing the repeal. However, already the language is shifting from “if” the policy is repealed to “when”.
Martin Luther King once said, “The arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice.” For the many patriotic gay men and women who have served our country, and for those who still do, the arc of history is finally bending their direction.
Since the Center, a project of Equality Iowa, opened it’s door on June 1st, 2009 it has had an eventful history. It’s first six months have been in the words of director Sandy Volpalka “a learning experience.”
Over a thousand visitors have passed through the doors of the Center in it’s first six months. 300 have directly benefited from one to the Center’s many programs. The Center is host to five support groups; TransformationsIowa (for Transgendered people) SOFFA-Iowa (for friends and family of trans people) The Roundtable (women of color), Rainbow youth and allies (25yrs and younger) and a Bi support group.
The challenges facing the LGBT community are many and diverse. The staff and volunteers have been a direct resource for people in need on many issues. We have talked to people who were feeling suicidal, helped people relocate into healthier living places, provided space and computers to those needing to find new jobs, provided clothing to those in need and helped people access health care.
We have held a number of events as well. We held an alcohol free Halloween party, a Thanksgiving meal, and another holiday meal on New Years day. In October we honored the Transgender Day of Remembrance. It was the first time that this date has been honored in Des Moines Iowa. Governor Culver issued a proclamation for the event, and we were joined by Pauline Park, a noted Trans advocate from New York.
Thanks to the Center, two staff were able to go to the Equality Conference in St. Louis. Three members of TransformationsIowa were able to go to the Transohio conference.
None of this would have been possible without help. The center has logged 150 volunteer hours each month and 1,400 items have been donated. The center has received financial assistance from the Conlin Family foundation, Crossroads United Church of Christ in Indianola, and many individual donors.
Looking forward to 2010, the Center is dedicated to continuing it’s success. We have new groups starting, including a coming out group, a lesbian support group, a grief group, an elder’s group and men of color. We are co-sponsors of Equality: Red Blue, Purple and Lobby day on February 10th.
The center has several grant requests to help with funding. However it is not corporate funders that will keep the Center open, it is you. We need volunteers to do everything from keeping the doors open to planning and working at fundraisers and events. We need individuals to donate as well. Financial help is always welcome, and donations can be made online through our fiscal agent, Equality Iowa and Equalityiowa.org. Material donations of office supplies, clean used clothing for the clothing closet and other things can be brought down to the center at 1300 locust during business hours 12pm to 6pm Monday through Saturday.
Come check us out and help make 2010 the best year yet at the Center.
Historic First Federal Protections of Transgender People
(October 22, 2009, Washington, DC) In an historic move, the United States Senate, by a vote of 68 to 29, joined the House of Representatives in passing The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which will be the first federal law to include gender identity and transgender people. Once signed by the President, this law will add sexual orientation, gender identity, gender and disability to the categories included in existing federal hate crimes law and will allow local governments who are unable or unwilling to address hate crimes to receive assistance from the federal government. President Obama has indicated that he will sign the bill into law.
“Transgender people have been waiting so many years for assistance from the federal government in addressing the rampant and disproportional violence that we face,” noted Mara Keisling, Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “Today we move one step closer to our goal of ending violence motivated by hatred. Everyone in America deserves to live free of fear and of violence. We know that the dedicated leadership and hard work of Senator Kennedy and Representative Conyers and many other legislators made the passage of this bill possible. Words can’t really express our gratitude for their commitment to equality for all people.”
In the past, federal law has only mentioned gender identity in a negative context, such as explicitly excluding transgender people from the Americans with Disabilities Act. The passage of the hate crimes bill marks a significant turning point from the days in which the federal government contributed to the oppression of transgender people to today when federal law takes action to protect our lives.
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act will have a number of positive impacts. First, it will help educate law enforcement about the frequent hate violence against transgender people and the need to prevent and appropriately address it. Second, it will help provide federal expertise and resources when it is needed to overcome a lack of resources or the willful inaction on the part of local and/or state law enforcement. Third, it will help educate the public that violence against anyone is unacceptable and illegal.
Transgender people continue to be disproportionately targeted for bias motivated violence. Thirteen states and Washington, DC have laws which include transgender people in state hate crimes laws.
About NCTE
The National Center for Transgender Equality is a national social justice organization devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and advocacy on national issues of importance to transgender people. By empowering transgender people and our allies to educate and influence policymakers and others, NCTE facilitates a strong and clear voice for transgender equality in our nation’s capital and around the country. The National Center for Transgender Equality is a 501(c)3 organization.
Trangendered people are no strangers to pain and adversity. Yet, often, pain is what leads us to growth and paradoxically, joy.
This summer members of Des Moines’ local transgendered support group, TransformationsDsm, have struggled with the deep pain of losing a beloved member. One of our founders, and our facilitator, Jeff Lanman, took his life.
Jeff was a remarkable human being. From the first moment I met him, I knew he cared for and accepted me. I was not alone, almost every member has said as much. He was deeply committed to making the group a safe and supportive place for transgender people. He met everyone where they were. Unlike so many groups, ours was a group open to anyone: FTM, MTF, pre- post, and non-op, crossdressers, etc. Many were “out” but Jeff was very respectful of those who were not, going to great length to insure their comfort.
Just as his life touched and changed so many of us, and so did his death. For some, it brought home the realities of being trans, of being part of a group with a higher suicide rate than combat vets. For others it was a wake up call. Jayden, a long time friend of Jeff’s, was unequivocal, “I will not let another trans person die.”
For the entire group, Jeff’s death and the turmoil it left in its wake has been a time to reflect. We have spent many hours discussing the group, what Jeff would have wanted to see done, and how his untimely demise motivated us to reach out to each other in new ways.
It is from this pain that growth has come. At our August meeting transformationsDsm voted unanimously to become Transformations Iowa, a state wide support and outreach organizations for transgendered people. We will continue to love and support each other locally as Jeff taught us. But we will now also be reaching out, online and in person, to people all over Iowa.
As remarkable as he was, Jeff was but one of many in the local Trans community. They all defy the stereotypes that critics cast of us as a group. We are a witty, lively, lovely collection of human beings who have shown great courage and wisdom by finding our true selves and living everyday of our lives honestly. I am incredibly pleased to be able to introduce this group to a larger audience.
We are working on a stronger web presence and currently have members developing pages on Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Jayden (the transgender outreach coordintor for the Center) is another availbe contact person for this group.
The Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA) would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. It creates express protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people similar to those available under existing federal discrimination laws for other protected classes of workers.
Workplace protections for LGBT people are urgently needed and long overdue. The President has promised to sign this bill. All we need now is for Congress to act.
Millions of LGBT workers are unprotected. Everyday an LGBT person remains invisible on the job or suffers open harassment and discrimination based on who they are. Passing ENDA will go a long way to rectify this inequity and indignity.
Passage of this critical legislation would help ensure every employee has a level playing field in the workplace; ENDA reflects the core American values of treating people fairly and ensuring everyone gets a fair shake.
We look forward to the day when LGBT people no longer have to fear the loss of their jobs on the basis of their sexual orientation or their gender identity. When that day comes, America will have taken another step forward in assuring justice and equality for all.
