Local and National Resources

Local Rochester Community Resources

  • Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley, www.gayalliance.org. Largest LGBTQ community center in upstate New York. Educates and advocates for the eradication of homophobia and full civil rights for all.
  • Empty Closet Newspaper, www.gayalliance.org. One of the oldest LGBTQ newspaper in the country, published in Rochester, by the Gay Alliance.
  • Shoulders to Stand On Project, www.gayalliance.org. Documentary film project recording the history of the LGBTQ community in Rochester.
  • The MOCHA Center, www.mochacenter.org, whose mission is to improve the health and wellness in communities of color through intervention and service with an emphasis on LGBT programming.  The MOCHA Center is a peer driven community-based organization that has been in existence since December 1996. MOCHA provides quality comprehensive health and wellness services to people of color, providers, community-based organizations, groups and institutions. Services include a full array of outreach, prevention, education, mental health, psychosocial services, support groups, and referrals to medical, treatment and care services. The MOCHA Center makes a difference locally, state-wide and nationally through the provision of quality technical & capacity building assistance services, community-driven mobilization initiatives, advocacy and sustained partnerships.

LGBTQ Youth Center, 875 E. Main St., Rochester. http://www.gayalliance.org/programs/youth.html.  The GAGV Youth Program provides comprehensive advocacy and support services to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth and their families in Monroe County and the surrounding areas. The 3,500 sq. ft. Youth Center is solely dedicated to providing a safe and supportive place for youth ages 13-23 to discuss issues, make friends, and get support. Services include weekly support groups, drop-in hours, evening and after-school specialty groups, social activities, leadership opportunities, crisis intervention, and short-term counseling.

ImageOut, LGBTQ Film Festival, now in it’s 19th year! www.imageout.org. Order your tickets online for Rochester’s premier LGBTQ film fest.

Pride and Joy Families, a local agency that is dedicated to helping LGBTQ people in upstate NY achieve their goals of building and sustaining healthy families.  We do this by providing support and advocacy, information and access to community and sensitive health care and services. Join them for their annual conference, April 8-10, in Rochester.  http://www.prideandjoyfamilies.org/

Gay, Lesbian, Straight Educators Network (GLSEN)

(www.glsen.org)   National Educators organization with local chapter. Provides schools, educators, parents and youth with many helpful resources, including climate studies, safe zone packets, et al.

Gay Rochester Online

Multiple Identities

Education/Advocacy

  • GLAAD: The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate, and inclusive representation of individuals and events in all media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation
  • The Gay & Lesbian Medical Association: The gay and lesbian medical association exists to make the health care environment a place of empathy, justice and equality
  • Gender Public Advocacy Coalition: The national organization working to end discrimination and violence caused by gender stereotypes
  • The Human Rights Campaign: working for LGBT’s equal rights
  • The International Foundation for Gender Education: An advocacy and educational organization for promoting the self-definition and free expression of individual gender identity
  • The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission: To protect and advance the human rights of all people and communities subject to discrimination or abuse on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or HIV status
  • The Intersex Society of North America: Devoted to systematic change to end unwanted genital surgeries for people born with atypical reproduction
  • The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force: The national progressive organization working for the civil rights of LGBT people
  • Scouting for All: Advocating on behalf of its members and supporters for the restoration of the traditionally unbiased values of Scouting as expressed and embodied by the Scout Oath & the Scout Law, and to influence the Boy Scouts of America to serve and include as participating members ALL youth and adult leaders, regardless of their spiritual belief, gender and sexual orientation
  • The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network: A national, non-profit legal services watchdog and policy organization dedicated to ending discrimination against the harassment of military personal affected by ‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’ and related forms of intolerance
  • The Sexuality Information & Education Council of the US: A national, non-profit organization which affirms that’s sexuality is a natural and healthy part of living, promotes comprehensive education about sexuality, and advocates the right of individuals to make responsible sexual choices
  • Empire State Pride Agenda: A statewide LGBT organization
  • The Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies: An independent LGBT research entity

Academic Links

Family

Health & Awareness

  • LGBT Family Health Initiative, which provides health information, tools, and resources to help you get healthy and stay healthy.

http://www.lgbthealthinitiative.com/

  • Gay Men’s Health Crisis: To combine compassionate care to New Yorkers with AIDS; educate to keep people healthy; advocate for fair and effective public policies
  • GLBT Health Pages: An excellent site by the Seattle and King County Public Health Department
  • The Gay & Lesbian Medical Association: Exists to make the health care environment a place of empathy, justice and equality
  • AIDS Care (formerly AIDS Rochester), www.acrochester.org. AIDS Care, The Center for Positive Living, is the leading provider of HIV/AIDS services in Rochester and the Finger Lakes and was formed by the January 2010 merger of AIDS Community Health Center and AIDS Rochester.
    We not only offer a wide array of HIV/AIDS medical, social and prevention services in a calm, comfortable and welcoming environment. We are also the only organization in the Finger Lakes region with HIV/AIDS care and support services as our sole focus.

Youth/Student

National:

LGBTQ magazines

other online resources ::

  • Avitale.com
    • Notes on Gender Role Transition.
  • Coming Out Stories
    • Coming out stories – Tell your story today and read about others
  • DebraDavis.org
    • Debra Davis is a retired, transgendered librarian, who travels the country to speak for many groups, incuding Pride Network.
  • FTM International
    • Information for Female to Male transgendered people and transsexual men.
  • Gay.com
    • Connecting the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered communities.
  • The Gay and Lesbian National Hotline
    • Speak with callers of all ages about coming-out issues, relationship concerns, HIV/AIDS anxiety and safer-sex information and lots more.
  • GLAAD
    • Works for the accurate depiction of Gays and Lesbians in the media.
  • Human Rights Campaign
    • Works for Lesbian and Gay equal rights.
  • International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
    • Works for GLBT equal rights internationally.
  • Lambda Legal
    • A national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education, and public policy work.
  • Lesbian.com
    • Resources for Lesbian individuals.
  • Leslie Feinberg
    • Leslie Feinberg is a transgendered man who came to speak at UR in the Fall of 2001. He is a great resource for our transgendered friends.
  • P-Flag National
    • A group for Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
  • Planetout
    • Everything from shopping and personals to news, finance and travel information.
  • Transgender Directory Project
    • Links to other Transgender sites.
  • Trans-Health.com
    • An online magazine for transgendered and transsexual people.
  • Transsexual.org
    • Information of transsexualism and transgenderism (More on Male to Female than Female to Male transgendered people).
  • Transsexualism: A Primer
    • An essay on transsexualism.
  • Transsexual Road Map
    • Information about transsexuals and transgenders making a transition to a better life for themselves.
  • Youth Resources: Committed, supportive, caring, and trustworthy place for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender youths to communicate.