There is a need for a community resource and service center in Whittier that is safe, inclusive, and affirming of all people.  Whittier YouthBuild is proposing to the City council to make use of a decade long empty building, the old police station, to create an center to service the LGBTQ community and all community members in the surrounding San Gabriel Valley Region.  The center would house partner service organizations to provide all people a safe, inclusive, accepting, and affirming space for:

• Mental health resources and suicide prevention
• Physical health services such as screening, clinics, and testings
• Homelessness prevention and crisis housing services
• Personal counseling
• Education and job development services
• Family education workshops
• Legal counsel
• Mentor ship
• Community Service and volunteer opportunities

A joint effort to collaborate in private, community based, local, regional, state, and federal resources to support the center is underway.  Our ask is that the City of Whittier's City Council allocate the building space for a center as well as the basic costs in order to meet local requirements for occupancy (such as asbestos abatement and structural safety needs).