Almost 100 years after a military veteran founded the Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in America, the LGBTQ community still fights for equality and acceptance.
In 2021, a record number of anti-LGBTQ laws were passed in states across the country. Of the 268 bills introduced, 27 passed and 13 were directed at transgender youth, according to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Unfortunately, 2022 is ushering in a new round of legislation to limit the rights of LGBTQ people.
California has some of the strongest policies and laws in the country to advance equality for its LGBTQ citizens, reports the Movement Advancement Project, an independent, nonprofit think tank. Still, more work lies ahead.
The Spahr Center, a nonprofit organization serving Marin’s LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities, is poised to achieve some lofty goals during the next four years. The organization’s 2021–2025 strategic plan calls for ensuring a comprehensive safety net of services, increasing community connection and getting to zero on HIV by preventing new cases of infection.
Adrian Shanker will steer The Spahr Center’s efforts to accomplish its objectives when he begins his role as the new executive director on April 1. An experienced LGBTQ community leader, Shanker founded the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center in Allentown, Pa., and served as the executive director for the last seven-and-a-half years. He also currently serves on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS in the Biden-Harris Administration.
The opportunity to move to the West Coast appealed to Shanker for many reasons, including the desire to be in a state with stronger LGBTQ protections.
“California has a better social and political climate to do this work,” Shanker said. “There are restrictive laws in Pennsylvania that make it challenging sometimes for an LGBTQ agency to focus only on our programs and services when we also need to address the political realities. There’s not a state law in Pennsylvania protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination, for example. Conversion therapy is legal in Pennsylvania.”
Although the LGBTQ social and political climate is friendlier in California, Shanker realizes challenges still exist. The Spahr Center interviewed 150 people last year during its five-year planning process and found that lack of acceptance is a major issue.
“LGBTQ+ youth in Marin continue to face rejection, discrimination, and even suicide because of who they are and who they love. Our LGBTQ+ seniors experience higher rates of isolation and depression. People living with HIV feel shunned, and many still face significant health challenges,” The Spahr Center’s 2021–2025 strategic plan states.
During the past three years, The Spahr Center, which serves 600 people, made great strides under the leadership of Executive Director Dana Van Gorder, who retired last month. The budget more than doubled, increasing from $995,000 to $2.4 million and paving the way for significant growth in the programs and services offered by The Spahr Center—a minor miracle during the pandemic.
The agency expanded its mental health services for youth, which now include providing a safe and inclusive space to get support from peers and professionals. Extensive work was conducted in Marin schools, helping teachers and administrators become better allies for LGBTQ students.
More discussion groups and social activities for seniors were added. A “Friendly Visitor” program was started to ensure seniors living in retirement facilities are connected to the LGBTQ community.
The Spahr Center, which is the County’s provider for sterile syringe access for people who inject drugs, also greatly increased its harm reduction services. The center offers HIV and hepatitis C testing in locations where syringes are distributed, such as homeless encampments throughout Marin.
“We’ve become a major distributor of naloxone, the drug that will reverse opioid overdoses,” Van Gorder said. “And we train people how to use it. This program has clearly saved a lot of people from overdosing.”
The center’s HIV program focuses on keeping people with HIV healthy and enjoying a good quality of life. It now serves 220 low-income Marin residents with HIV. During Van Gorder’s tenure, the center began a program to provide HIV medications directly to some clients, which is also a revenue source. It has helped provide more housing for people with HIV and more financial assistance with rent, utility bills and other key expenses.
A pre-exposure prophylaxis, PrEP, is a daily pill that HIV negative people can take to prevent infection. The Spahr Center established a PrEP navigation program to help people through the system to get started on the medication. In Marin, approximately 12 to 16 people become infected with HIV every year. Young gay men of color account for about half of the new cases, which prompted the agency to create a PrEP outreach program for the Black and Latinx communities.
“New HIV infections are still a concern and needlessly high,” Van Gorder said. “We hired a bilingual PrEP navigator six months ago to take responsibility for reducing that number.”
The Spahr Center also increased visibility in public policy circles by regularly meeting with members of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, school boards and other officials. The goal is to inform them of the needs of the LBGTQ community and engage them in the effort.
When Van Gorder was hired by The Spahr Center three years ago, he told the organization that he would be departing when he hit retirement age. Although Covid waylaid some of his plans, Van Gorder successfully built a more cohesive and visible LGBTQ community in Marin.
“We are deeply grateful for his leadership at The Spahr Center over the past three years as well as his decades of service to the LGBTQ+ community,” the organization said in a statement. “Dana brought a wealth of experience in HIV and LGBTQ+ advocacy and services that allowed us to grow our organization to new heights. His resolute leadership through the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic ensured that our Center remained stable, that our clients remained supported, that we launched our Strategic Plan, grew our budget, and established new programs. We congratulate Dana on his lifelong career of serving our community, and wish him all the best in his retirement.”
Now, it’s Shanker’s time to shepherd The Spahr’s Center’s agenda forward. There are more than 250 LGBTQ centers across America and Canada, and each one serves a unique community, according to Shanker. He plans on identifying the gaps in the center’s offerings and finding new ways of supporting Marin’s LGBTQ community.
“I’m filling very big shoes,” Shanker said. “Dana has been a long-time leader in the LGBTQ community and an incredible leader at the Spahr Center. I’m aware of the long history at Spahr and will work with the entire team to grow the organization to benefit the LBGTQ and HIV communities across Marin.”
