The Center

Region: New York, New York
Grant duration: Three years
Amount: $100,000

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (The Center) is the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) multi-service organization on the East Coast and second largest LGBT community center in the world. Each week more than 6,000 people visit The Center to access life-enhancing and -saving programs, spanning the areas of health and wellness, recovery, youth, families, and arts and culture. The Center is also home to more than 400 educational, cultural, professional and recreational groups – including 90 twelve-step meetings.

Informed by the recently completed feasibility study, The Center will receive seed funding to support the implementation of LGBT-SAINT (Serving Adolescents In Need of Treatment)/ Implementation) that will be locally and nationally replicable and scalable. The Palette Fund grant will support the implementation of key program activities and creation of the “SAINT Network” (a need identified by the feasibility study). The Network will be a group of youth serving and inpatient treatment organizations committed to providing referrals and key supports to the program. Collaboration with other providers is a key feature of LGBT SAINT’s implementation. Additionally, the grant will support the rigorous evaluation required to support replicability. By the end of Year Two, program implementation and evaluation will enable enough data, buttressed if needed in Year Three, for LGBT SAINT’s consideration for entry into the National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP), allowing for replication locally and nationally. That means success serving LGBT youth in New York City can be a model for reaching thousands across the United States facing similar challenges.