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A Few Clouds Creating a face and a place
Long Beach woman wants to establish center for gays
Julia Hammer wants to put a face on the gay community in Long Beach. So she’s starting a community center with the hope that it will provide a safe, fun and informative place for its members.
Hammer has tentatively named it the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender) Center of Long Beach, and the endeavor is part of her project for a class she is taking with Landmark Education, an organization that offers seminars, workshops and courses for personal and professional development.
“Starting this gay group in Long Beach is something that I’ve wanted to do since I moved back here in 2006,” said Hammer, who is lesbian and left the barrier island to attend SUNY New Paltz after high school. “I guess I didn’t really know what my resources were and I didn’t know if I could do this by myself.”
Hammer found the college had a visible and supportive gay community, but she felt that her hometown still had a don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy on homosexuality.
“There’s definitely been an influx of gay people in the community,” Hammer said. “In general, as far as viability goes, there’s not really much out there that’s offered or available for people.”
She’s noticed that members of the growing gay community do gather informally, but Long Beach lacks the social atmosphere offered in Manhattan. Hammer wants the center to not only offer support and information, but she also wants to plan and hold events there targeted at the gay community.
Ken Page, an active member of the gay community and a Long Beach resident, echoes Hammer’s perception. “Long Beach has more of a gay presence than any other south shore community that I know,” said Page, a psychotherapist who believes Long Island, as a whole, doesn’t offer a safe or welcoming environment for homosexuals even though people have become more tolerant.
“I think it’s the perfect place for a conscious gay presence that would help the economy immensely,” Page said of Long Beach’s diverse culture and ample spiritual presence. “A lot more gay people would just be pouring right in here.”
