San Gabriel Valley LGTBQ Community Battles Isolation, Loneliness In Time of Social Distancing

At a time when social distancing is the norm, the San Gabriel Valley’s LGBTQ community is keeping busy trying to keep people connected.

Sunday marks the 32nd National Coming Out Day, dedicated to LGBTQ pride and empowerment of the community in its efforts to seek equality.

And while a large community event is precluded by pandemic safety precautions, L.A. Pride, the organization that traditionally hosts the annual L.A. Pride Parade & Festival, is joining in a national virtual 5K/10K run to commemorate the occasion in a socially distanced manner.

Participants are encouraged to walk, run, stroll or dance their way along their own neighborhood routes, or even on a treadmill.

Keeping connected with the community takes on greater importance during the pandemic, according to San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ Center Board President Aaron Saenz.

“One of the current major issues that we’re trying to combat is isolation and loneliness,” he said. “We have a large LGBT senior population, and so we’ve been putting a lot of resources and time into creating a space for them to come together via Zoom.”

In-person meetings are also held, in outdoor and socially distanced settings, he added.

“Right now, about 90 percent of our work is through support groups,” Saenz said.

In addition to seniors, online peer support groups include an LGBT youth group; a transegender, gender nonconforming, and intersex group; and a bisexual group, he said. A men’s group is coming soon.

“What we’ve been focusing on right now is just creating that safe space for people to connect with other people,” according to Saenz.

With the ongoing pandemic, the San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ Center has given up its physical location.

But the organization is already making plans, and raising funds, to secure a new home once the public health situation improves, Saenz said.

A fundraising campaign dubbed “Building Pride” is ongoing on the SGV LGBTQ Center’s website to help support the new facility.

“In addition, we plan to hire an executive director who will be responsible for overseeing the administration, programs, and strategic plan of the center,” the nonprofit organization said in a written statement.

More information about the Pride Stride is available on L.A. Pride’s website at lapride.org/event/pride-stride-2020.

More information on the San Gabriel Valley LGBTQ Center, as well as its fundraising campaign, is available online at www.sgvlgbtq.org.

"We’re leading the effort to get people moving and help them get out, figuratively and literally, across the country to safely show their pride in solidarity with this event." -Sharon-Franklin Brown, Board President of CSW/LA Pride. Visit https://t.co/5OkS46NTpn to find out more pic.twitter.com/FAnZYWiljO

— LA Pride (@lapride) October 1, 2020