27 Year Old Black Trans Woman DéVonnie J’Rae Johnson Killed in Los Angeles

DéVonnie J'Rae Johnson trans woman

In a storyline reminiscent of the shooting death of a trans teen in a Walgreens, a 29-year-old Black trans woman who was reportedly homeless was shot to death by a security guard in a Los Angeles grocery store. Black trans woman DéVonnie J’Rae Johnson was shot to death in Los Angeles, CA on Aug. 7, […]

Murder of Los Angeles Trans Woman Cherry Bush, 48 Officially a Hate Crime

Cherry Ryan Bush Sylvar

Cherry Bush was 48 years old, She was homeless, living in Sylmar a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley and is the northernmost neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles. On July 5, a 29-year-old man shot her after making disparaging comments based on her perceived gender identity (and sexual orientation.) She died the […]

Video: First person view of Pittsburgh rally to reopen small business and support Trump

Lorenzo does outreach to people experiencing homelessness, neighbors who are incredibly overlooked right now. he’s been making excellent points that are not on our radar. Did you know street meals have been limited to 3 days a week? I’m appalled to realize I haven’t been thinking about this. Lorenzo went Downtown on Monday to continue […]

The Feral Cat Girls One Year Later aka the Lesbian Cat Lady Adventures

One year ago today, we woke up early with a plan to take the female cat we had trapped to the TNR clinic for 7:30 AM. We dubbed her Mamma Mia because we knew she had a litter. We had been unsuccessful in trapping her companion female whom we assume was a kitten from a […]

Nine Things You Never Thought To Donate To The Winter Gear Drive

Homeless donation

As you know, I work hard during the winter to gather your gently used items and help the GLCC redistribute them to neighbors. There’s an Amazon Wish List that you can use. The wish list includes some of the basics – blankets, coats, gloves. So let me help you understand some of the other needs. […]

Report Details Homelessness Among LGBTQ Youth in Allegheny County

Homeless Youth Pittsburgh

A report released by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services ‘I’ll never get used to it: Young People Living on the Street’ confirms that at least one-third of the number of homeless youth (ages 18-24) in our region are LGBTQ and most say a lack of family support is why they are not living […]

The Hand Me Downs That Saved Lives During the Polar Vortex

Winter Gear Drive

Clothes and toys, recipes and jokes, advice and prejudice: we all have to handle all sorts of hand-me-downs every day. Tell us about some of the meaningful hand-me-downs in your life. Just yesterday, I met with the team at Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ Community Center to talk about the next Winter Gear Drive. Last year, we collected thousands of assorted […]

How Many Winter Hats Do You Own?

winter gear

This weekend, we enter the coldest spell of the season, so far, with temperatures forecast to hit zero degrees on Tuesday. And sadly there are people who will spend the hours when it is zero degrees being cold. They may live outside and “sleep rough” under a bridge or in an alley. They may be […]

Kindness Is Not Always Random

homeless Pittsburgh

The Prompt: Tell us about the time when you performed a secret random act of kindness — where the recipient of your kindness never found out about your good deed. How did the deed go down? This is a tough one for me. I’ve certainly participated in many  projects anonymously, mostly behind the scenes as a […]

GLCC Issues Emergency Appeal for Donations of Blankets, Coats

Pittsburgh homeless

Pittsburgh’s Gay and Lesbian Community Center (GLCC) has been collecting “Winter Gear” for several months as part of its commitment to the Service Access for Youth (SAY) coalition. This coalition of 22 organizations and businesses provides physical, emotional, and social supports for homeless youth, including LGBTQ youth. The Winter Gear drive has also been able […]