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NewswireToday - /newswire/ -
Jersey City, NJ, United States, 05/24/2007 - The Journal Square area of Jersey City will soon be home to a three story community services center for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community, as well as all people living with HIV / AIDS in the region.
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The Journal Square area of Jersey City will soon be home to a three story community services center for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) community, as well as all people living with HIV / AIDS in the Hudson County Region starting later this Summer. Hudson Pride Connections, a 14 year old non-profit in Jersey City, has finalized a contract this week to acquire a building on Jones Street, just steps away from its current rented location in Journal Square.
“This is an amazing opportunity for everyone in the community, including all its members and allies, to rally behind a project that stands for the inclusion, visibility, and equality of all people in our communities,” said Guido A. Sanchez, Executive Director of the organization.
“We need an organization that advocates for us...It would soon be a travesty not to have a place to call home,” said Tracee Ross, a transgender woman from Jersey City.
The group plans to occupy the building starting in August with renovations planned throughout the Summer and a grand opening of the facility in the Fall. Two other groups, the Northern New Jersey chapter of the national organization Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and the organizer’s of Jersey City’s annual pride festival Jersey City Lesbian + Gay Outreach (JCLGO) have committed to occupying the space as well to help centralize resources for the community.
Richard D. Burns, Executive Director of The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center in New York said, "We are happy to see our neighbors across the river be able to establish a permanent space for our community. It is clear there is a need on all local fronts to connect LGBT people through a community service center like Hudson Pride's."
The group launched their capital campaign in February of this year and has garnered support from Hudson County Executive Thomas A. DeGise, the city of Jersey City including Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy and members of the Municipal Council, State Assemblyman Lou Manzo, U.S. Congressman Albio Sires, and numerous other corporate, political, and non-profit partners.
“We are thrilled to see Hudson Pride Connections joining the ever-growing ranks of community centers with permanent homes. It is a testament to their strength and commitment to serving the LGBT community,” said Terry Stone, Executive Director of the National Association of LGBT Community Centers in Washington D.C.
More information on the progress of the project, plans for the center, and getting involved in the capital project can be found on the group’s website.
Hudson Pride Connections (HPC) (hudsonpride.org) was founded in 1993 to serve the unmet needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, as well as all HIV positive people, through supportive social services, prevention, outreach, advocacy, and development trainings for other service providers, to educate and empower all of our communities in the Hudson County region. Hudson Pride currently offers a youth program, support groups and outreach, legal advocacy, financial assistance for people living with HIV, job development resources, and a number of new and expanded programs starting up throughout 2007 and 2008.
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guido[.]hudsonpride.org 
