diversity center
Announcements and Reminders
Our district governor will be here August 10th. Save the date!
Two of our rotary scholarship winners visited us today! One is going to the University of Santa Clara and one is going to UC Berkeley. Congratulations and best wishes to both of these young women as they move towards the future!
John Fisher reminded us to give checks to him for polio plus in order for them to be matched.
The club awarded a check for $70,000 to Leo's Haven, an accessible park, today. Oliver (center below) said it will help him because his wheelchair won't get stuck on the curb anymore!
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Sharon Pappo from the Diversity Center of Santa Cruz County was our speaker today. She is a graduate of UCSC and Berkeley. Founded in 1989,the Diversity Center is the hub of the LGBT community here.
Announcements and Reminders
Our district governor will be here August 10th. Save the date!
Two of our rotary scholarship winners visited us today! One is going to the University of Santa Clara and one is going to UC Berkeley. Congratulations and best wishes to both of these young women as they move towards the future!
John Fisher reminded us to give checks to him for polio plus in order for them to be matched.
Story
Ms Pappo said that nationally LGBT issues have recently been in the forefront and that there have been some significant achievements. In 2015 same sex marriage was extended to the country. And as of yesterday same sex parents can both have their names on the birth certificate. She also cites the transgender bathroom bill signed by Governor Brown this past year.
But there have also been rollbacks. Over 100 bills have been introduced in state legislatures to cut back or eliminate the progress that has been achieved. At the diversity center they still see people who struggle with their coming out process.
Ms Pappo said the suicide rate for LGBT youth is 10 times higher than other groups and over 35% of the homeless population is LGBT. Teens and elders are two parts of LGBT population that the Diversity Center offers special programs for.
Among their programs, they have a special health promotion program for elders called WISE that is beginning soon. They also work with gay straight alliance clubs in high school to help create a safe place. They had a prom in Watsonville in April as well as sponsoring breaking the silence events. They do a campout in August for young people. They have a speakers bureau working to create a safe community for everyone.
The center has 300 volunteers who have trained over 450 health care providers on gender care issues. Their outreach to schools has reached 2500 people. In the future they plan to train law officers.
October 14th is the date of their annual gala. Sharon says come and have a great time!