Article by Max Disposti, Founder and Executive Director of the North County LGBTQ Resource Center, April 20, 2012.

Max Disposti

This year’s theme for the North County LGBTQ Resource Center’s upcoming Gala on May 19 is all about family.

Family is when our service members, reunited with their loved ones, have to struggle with their affections to avoid making national news. Family is the thousands of couples hoping to have their unions finally recognized as marriage. Families are federal government employees that cannot take care of their spouses because the Defense of Marriage Act denies them the right. Families or the bi-national couples forced to live apart because, in this country, their union is illegal.

Here in North County, a few hundred feet away from the entrance to Camp Pendleton, our families feel the burden of forced invisibility. This year’s Gala is not only about fundraising but is also an opportunity to reestablish dignity and humanity to all our North County families.

Only a year ago, the idea of opening a North County LGBTQ Resource Center was a general thought in our minds, an undefined desire inspired by years of community work and dedication that many North County residents have volunteered for.

At last year’s Gala, guest of honor and keynote speaker Steward Milk compared our effort to the great struggles of the past: establishing a community center in an area that was historically non-supportive. Ironically, a year after, we come to realize that because of these predetermined obstacles, establishing our presence happened because of an amazing support from our LGBT families, allies and service members.

Today, our community is transforming the way North County has been perceived for years. In fact, the presence of many different support and discussion groups, mental health programs, socio-recreational activities and other services the Resource Center provides are making a difference. We are already looking into extending our hours of operation and maybe, one day, moving into a bigger place.

In the meantime, having a safe space to gather, socialize, discuss and organize the LGBTQ self-identified youth it is really what makes any LGBT Center a resource that everyone can use.

Guest of honor and keynote speaker and for this year’s Gala is West Hollywood mayor and civil rights leader John Duran. Duran has years of activism in educating about HIV prevention and AIDS, while being the force behind many of our community’s antidiscrimination efforts. An active duty officer will also share his personal experience after the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and discuss how the presence of the Resource Center benefits our local military.

Of course, music, food and a performance by the San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus will add to the experience of a great evening at the beautiful venue, offered by the Oceanside Museum of Art.

If you have not yet reserved your ticket, we encourage you to do so. All proceeds will support the activities of the only LGBTQ Center currently run by volunteer personnel only. For more information or to purchase your ticket to the “We Are Family” Gala, visit ncresourcecenter.org or call 760-672-1848.

One last note for all my friends that may feel family is not who they are. Family can be everyone; it is not a homogenous box, losing the creativity and diversity of our immense and colorful community. An individual that has embraced the love for the larger human community is family, too. We all can make our existence a better one.