From: listmgr@ngltf.org Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2000 13:58:07 +0400 Subject: [NGLTF Press] GLBT Community Centers Meet at White House ********************************************************************** 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 ********************************************************************** 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 ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ 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. If you wish to UNSUBSCRIBE from this list, please send an email message with your request to listmgr@ngltf.org.