Subject: [NGLTF Press] GLBT Community Centers Meet at White House
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2000 13:58:07 +0400

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NATIONAL ASSN. OF LESBIAN & GAY COMMUNITY CENTERS
NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE
PRESS RELEASE

Contact:
David Elliot, NGLTF Communications Director
202-332-6483 ext. 3303

Dan Willson, Communications Director, Lesbian & Gay Community Services 
Center (New York)
212-620-7310

Note to editors: A complete list of press contacts follows text
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GLBT COMMUNITY CENTERS, FEDERAL OFFICIALS GATHER 
AT WHITE HOUSE TO DISCUSS FUNDING ISSUES

Jan. 13, 2000 - Representatives of lesbian and gay community centers from
across the country met at the White House for the first time Wednesday
with senior officials and lesbian and gay political appointees from a broad
range of cabinet agencies and departments. Joined by other advocates, the
two groups discussed how to increase the flow of federal dollars from
Washington, D.C. to local communities in need.

The meeting, arranged by Julian Potter, Director of Lesbian and Gay
Outreach for the White House, included staff members of the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force and the seven-person elected Executive Committee
of the National Association of Lesbian and Gay Community Centers,
representing more than 100 community centers in 36 
states.

"Community centers provide a wide variety of services, ranging from
counseling to support for victims of domestic violence to financial
assistance to health care," said Ann DeGroot, Executive Director of
OutFront Minnesota. "Wednesday's meeting helped train community center
leaders from both large cities and small towns to cut through the red tape
 and bureaucracy to increase the federal funds to support our vital programs."

"This meeting was the best opportunity we have ever had for representatives
of federal agencies to meet with those of us on the front line in local
communities to discuss how the government can support the delivery of
services to our communities," said Gwenn A. Baldwin, executive director
of the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Community Center. 

NGLTF Political Director Rebecca Isaacs commended Potter for arranging
the meeting. "Today we took the first step to open the door for increased
funding opportunities for local centers that provide important services to
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) people," Isaacs said.
"NGLTF is committed to helping local groups access these resources."

Federal agencies represented at today's meeting included the Small Business 
Administration, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the departments of 
Commerce, Justice, Interior, Education, Labor, Transportation, Health and
Human Services, Housing and Urban Development and the White House AIDS
Policy Office. Also in attendance were representatives from the offices of
House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt and Rep. Barney Frank.

"These meetings symbolize the growth in the community centers around the
nation, both in terms of our numbers and as a reflection of our political
savvy," said Richard Burns, Executive Director of the Lesbian & Gay Community
Services Center of New York. "We are reminding our elected and appointed
federal officials that as taxpayers, GLBT people require access to services
and funding and that GLBT centers throughout the country already provide many
of these services without adequate funding."

*****ATTENTION REPORTERS, EDITORS AND PRODUCERS: Members of the Executive
Committee of the National Association of Lesbian and Gay Community Centers
attended the White House meeting and are available for comment:

Gwenn A. Baldwin, executive director, L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center, 323-860-7350

Richard Burns, executive director, Lesbian & Gay Community Services Center (New 
York) 212-620-7310

Ann Marie DeGroot, executive director, OutFront Minnesota, 612-822-0127

Linda Malicki, executive director, Lesbian/Gay Community Service Center of Greater 
Cleveland, 216-522-1999

Mike Smith, executive director, the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Community Services 
Center of Colorado, 303-733-7743, ext. 13.

Doug Weiss, executive director, Gay & Lesbian Community Services Center of Orange 
County, 714-534-0862

Paula Wolfe, executive director, Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Utah, 801-539-
8800
______________________________________________________________________________
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This message was issued by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Communications Department.  If you have a question regarding this post, please
direct it to the contact at the top of this message.

To reach the NGLTF Communications Department at NGLTF, please call David
Elliot, Communications Director, at 202-332-6483 x3303 or pager 800-757-6476.
 
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