Creating a welcoming home for all

“A year ago, none of this existed,” she said, noting her amazement at the sheer number of community organizations and residents who have reached out to center staff in the last year. “I think we’ve become such a staple, I can’t imagine us not existing.”

As part of the county’s PRIDE Initiative — which aims to foster an inclusive environment for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and two-spirit — the center has fulfilled its mission of offering the LGBTQ-affirming resources, clinical services and community gathering space, said Putkey. She said a collaborative effort among four nonprofits — Outlet Adolescent Counseling Services, Peninsula Family Services, StarVista and Daly City Partnership — as well as countless others who reached out since the center’s opening has helped shape what the center initially offered.

Though those behind making the county’s first LGBTQ-affirming center a reality knew the space they were creating was in high demand, Putkey said the enthusiastic response from those participating in the center’s many offerings has shown even they have underestimated the demand for a space where anyone can feel welcome. Acknowledging center staff are working hard to keep pace with the ideas coming from residents of all ages, their efforts to contribute to the center’s work are an encouraging reminder they are helping meet the community’s needs.

“We need more space, we need more rooms, we need more staff,” she said. “If anything, we need to expand capacity and we weren’t expecting it to happen so fast. The community was ready and it was about time.”

Intergenerational dinners, sexual education sessions for high school students and forums inviting residents of all ages who identify as LGBTQ to share their experiences with others are among the initiatives driven by community members, said Putkey. Through the nonprofits the center has partnered with, Putkey said word has also spread about the cultural sensitivity training the center offers to workplaces, adding the center has also trained close to 500 behavioral health professionals on best practices for collecting sexual orientation and gender identity data to help them comply with a state mandate and ask questions in a way that respects their clients.

Having grown up in San Mateo County and attended Capuchino High School, Putkey remembered feeling like LGBTQ-affirming activities were more plentiful in cities like San Francisco or San Jose, with few centered in San Mateo County. But in recent years as she’s become involved in the center’s work, Putkey said the enthusiasm of those who have sought services at the center has made her hopeful about the future.

Putkey said the center’s work has also illuminated the struggle those who identify with the LGBTQ community continue to face as they navigate their experiences with family members, partners and the community at large. She said many have come to the center simply looking for a place to be themselves, so staff have strived to make the design as welcoming as possible.

“We tried to really create the center as a home because so many LGBTQ folks were rejected from our homes,” she said. “To have a space that really feels like home is really meaningful.”

As the center’s youth program coordinator, Gilbert Gammad has seen youth groups expand throughout the country and include a mix of younger and older students able to mentor them. In reflecting on the center’s anniversary, Gammad said seeing youth from different high schools connect with each other and develop an interest in giving back to the community they helped create has been especially gratifying after months of planning.

“It’s like wow, we actually did it, we’re still doing it and we’re going to continue doing it,” said Gammad.

The San Mateo County Pride Center’s One Year Anniversary will be held 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. June 1 at the center, 1021 S. El Camino Real in San Mateo. 

anna@smdailyjournal.com

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