One participant was TKT Para-dice, a performance artist with a disability who moved from New Zealand to San Francisco 6 years ago to join a mixed ability dance troupe based in Oakland.

Two weeks after being laid off from work in 2012, he became homeless and is currently living in a shelter. TKT came to the Center this week in search of housing support, and he also became part of what he referred to as “a community of caring individuals” by providing wheelchair repairs for other attendees.

TKT loves our City, particularly its accessibility for individuals who are disabled, and is hopeful that the resources he found at LGBTQ Connect will provide him with housing in San Francisco.

Like TKT shared, It takes a community of caring individuals to ensure all of us have what we need to feel prosperous.

We would like to extend a special thanks to the 300 volunteers, the 100 service providers and Bevan Dufty, Director of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships and Engagement for the Mayor’s Office, who all worked so tirelessly to make Monday’s LGBTQ Connect event successful.

The Center is proud to host events like this which help lift community members out of poverty. Every day, the Center connects people with critical resources.

• Our youth program provides warm meals to 700 homeless youth each year and connects them to housing, employment and health services.
• Our employment services help 1,000 job seekers find jobs with coaching, networking and job referral services annually.
• Our I&R desk links 3,000 people to health service every year. PLUS the Center is now a connection site for Covered CA, California’s new Affordable Care Act insurance exchange where individuals, families and small businesses can find affordable health insurance.