The Pride Center at Equality Park is an LGBTQ+ community center in

Wilton Manors, Florida Wilton Manors is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 11,426. Wilton Manors is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6,166,488 people at the 2020 census. Histor ...

, that serves

Broward County Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 ...

Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...

, and

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. The center provides information, news, and events that affect

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

community. Established in 1993, the center is headquartered within a building with meeting and office space for individuals, programs, services, and organizations. The goal of the center is to empower the LGBT communities in South Florida. The center hosts more than 60 regularly-meeting groups each month. Support, social, and educational groups focus on women, seniors, youth, men, the trans community, recovery, health, the arts, athletics, spirituality, games, and more. It is also a major site for

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

testing and prevention, education and counseling, and also offers holistic and comprehensive support programs for persons living with

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

. AIDS memorabilia that later would be displayed in the

World AIDS Museum and Educational Center The World AIDS Museum and Educational Center, located at 1350 E Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, opened on May 15, 2014. History The AIDS Museum and Educational Center began as an HIV support group, Pozitive Attitudes, at the Pride Cen ...

were first exhibited here. In 2015, Pride Center Florida generated more than $2 million in annual revenues, primarily from grants and government contracts of $1.2 million and $527,000 in annual members' dues and contributions. Net assets exceeded $6.2 million, including property and equipment valued at more than $5.3 million. Programs are supported by a diverse group of local and national sponsors, such as

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, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino,

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, Greater

Convention and Visitors Bureau, and AHF

AIDS Healthcare Foundation AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing medicine and health care to individuals living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. As of 2020, it operates about 400 clinics, 64 outpatient healthcare ce ...

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, the country's largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT older adults, is one of the center's most popular programs, including 398 active members with 175 LGBT seniors attending weekly get-togethers. In August 2016, SAGE estimated there are 43,000 LGBT older adults in

Miami-Dade Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

, Broward and Palm Beach counties. The agency organizes an annual Tropical Plant Fair each spring, including several dozen vendor booths.

Alan Schubert

The Pride Center grew out of the initial vision of founder Alan Schubert, one of the earliest public leaders of

's gay and lesbian community. Schubert died of cancer on June 1, 2016. He was 70 years old. Schubert's legacy includes the Pride Center where the main building bears his name and a long history of financial support and bringing community resources together on behalf of causes that included the Broward Gay and Lesbian Youth Group, the Child Care Connection, the Jewish AIDS Network, Broward Public Library, Human Rights Campaign, Center One and Tuesday's Angels. Upon his death, The Pride Center said:

Housing for LGBT Seniors

In August 2016, a partnership between the Pride Center and

Carrfour Supportive Housing Carrfour Supportive Housing is a nonprofit organization established in 1993 by the Homeless Committee of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. It develops, operates and manages affordable and supportive housing communities for low-income individ ...

secured financing to develop, build and operate

's first

supportive housing Supportive housing is a combination of housing and services intended as a cost-effective way to help people live more stable, productive lives, and is an active "community services and funding" stream across the United States. It was developed by ...

community that will significantly serve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender seniors. Carrfour's competitive application for

tax credit A tax credit is a tax incentive which allows certain taxpayers to subtract the amount of the credit they have accrued from the total they owe the state. It may also be a credit granted in recognition of taxes already paid or a form of state "disc ...

s won funding from Florida Housing Finance Corporation for housing credit and gap financing for

affordable housing Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on affo ...

developments for persons with a disabling condition, providing the financing needed to begin construction of The Residences at Equality Park as an initial 48-unit apartment complex on the Pride Center's campus at North Dixie Highway and Northeast 20th Drive in

Wilton Manors Wilton Manors is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 11,426. Wilton Manors is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6,166,488 people at the 2020 census. Histor ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The effort to create affordable, supportive housing in Wilton Manors began in 2012 when City Commissioner Tom Green proposed development of affordable housing for the community's primarily

seniors. Three years later, the proposal won unanimous support from the City Commission to create 12,346 square feet of retail space and 130 affordable housing units within The Pride Center's five-acre campus.
- Pride Center Florida Official Website. Pride Center formally partnered with Carrfour to pursue funding, develop and operate the housing complex.

Public Outreach

Since 2010, Pride Center Florida has published a quarterly newsletter, known as the ''Pride Center Voice''. The newsletter is distributed in print and electronically. The organization also maintains an active social media presence, including on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Notes and references

External links

*
Pride Center Facebook page

Pride Center Twitter

Pride Center YouTube

Services & Advocacy for LGBT Elders (SAGE)

National Resource Center on LGBT Aging
{{DEFAULTSORT:Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders LGBT and ageing LGBT charities LGBT health organizations in the United States Medical and health organizations based in Florida