Oakland LGBTQ center reduces services, seeks new funding after losing federal grants over its DEI focus

"Before Sergio Ardila joined the board of the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, he was one of its clients. Ardila, who describes himself as a recovering addict, attended his first Narcotics Anonymous meeting at the center in 2022, through its Rainbow Recovery program, and received rental assistance from the organization during a period of unemployment. My story with the center is very personal, Ardila said. I got involved to give back what the center has given. Now, because of $600,000 in federal funding cuts at the direction of the Trump administration, the center's services have either been scaled back, or in the case of the rental assistance, cut entirely."

"The center was notified in January that it would not receive funding because the organization was not in alignment with the administration, CEO Joe Hawkins said. The LGBTQ center is among many nonprofit organizations across the country that have had their federal funding frozen or rescinded since the start of the second Trump administration. As a result, the center, which serves more than 4,000 people, is no longer able to subsidize mental health services. Addiction treatment services have been significantly reduced and the center lost additional funding for its HIV prevention efforts. The center was forced to lay off about half of its staff earlier this year, about 16 of 32 employees, according to Bay Area Reporter, a free weekly newspaper serving the LGBT communities in the Bay Area. Though the federal grants only made up a portion of the center's annual budget which Hawkins said was around $4 million last year President Donald Trump's anti-DEI executive orders have strained LGBTQ organizations and put pressure on philanthropic giving."

Sergio Ardila transitioned from client to board member after receiving Narcotics Anonymous support and rental assistance from the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center. The center provided Rainbow Recovery meetings and rental aid during unemployment. The organization lost $600,000 in federal funding after being told it was not in alignment with the administration, according to CEO Joe Hawkins. Funding losses led to elimination of rental assistance, reduced addiction treatment and mental health subsidies, diminished HIV prevention funding, and layoffs of about half the staff. The center serves more than 4,000 people and operated on an annual budget of roughly $4 million.

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