Jersey City
welcomes new community center

Jersey City, N.J., is scheduled to open a new three-story community center for LGBT residents as well as those living with HIV/AIDS.

Local nonprofit Hudson Pride Connections acquired the property in Journal Square, a short walk from its current, rented location. Several "work days" have brought a number of volunteers to prepare the building for occupancy on September 1. An official ceremony will be held on October 25 to celebrate the center's grand opening.

"This is an amazing opportunity for everyone in the community, including all its members and allies, to rally behind a project that stands for the inclusion, visibility, and equality of all people in our communities," said executive director Guido A. Sanchez in a press release.

"We need an organization that advocates for us.... It would soon be a travesty not to have a place to call home," said Tracee Ross, a local transgender woman, expressing her support for the center in the press release.

Two other groups, the Northern New Jersey chapter of the national organization Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network and the organizers of Jersey City's annual pride festival, Jersey City Lesbian + Gay Outreach, will also occupy the space to create the feeling of a strong, centralized community.

"We are thrilled to see Hudson Pride Connections joining the ever-growing ranks of community centers with permanent homes. It is a testament to their strength and commitment to serving the LGBT community," Terry Stone, executive director of the National Association of LGBT Community Centers, explained in the press release. (The Advocate)