The Center
2008 Capital Pride
For both The Center, ”Home for GLBT in Metro DC,” and the D.C. Crystal Meth Working Group (CMWG) it sponsors, things have been busy since this time last year.
The Center hired David Mariner as its first acting executive director in April, launched an authors series and formed a group to fight tobacco use in the community. The IRS recently granted The Center permanent non-profit tax status, and The Center marked its five-year anniversary of being incorporated in December. That same month, the CMWG also released some initial data on meth abuse in the community.
Michael Sessa, The Center’s president, says there’s more to come, noting that The Center’s 14th and K Streets NW office-space lease ends in November. That means the next stop may be the sort of drop-in space associated with a GLBT community center.
In the meantime, drop in at the Capital Pride booth, where volunteers will be conducting surveys on drug use and sexual behavior for the Crystal Meth Working Group. A couple minutes of polling earns each participant a free T-shirt.
But as Sessa stresses, there is certainly more to Capital Pride than swag.
”Capital Pride is important because that’s when everyone comes together,” Sessa says of The Center’s role as a Community Partner. ”That synchronizes perfectly with The Center’s mission. It’s about our community, and what we have in common. Seeing it, being visible, seeing everybody. This reminds us that we are a large community, that we have more in common than not.”
For more information about The Center, visit them online at www.thedccenter.org. The D.C. Crystal Meth Working Group is online at www.letstalkaboutmeth.org.
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