A new LGBTQ+ center has opened in Charleston this week, dedicating its services to queer youth in the area and in the South Carolina region.
Domenico Ruggerio, executive director of We Are Family, said the project was a long time coming and indicating development of the center started two years prior to the opening day.
“When we were thinking about the growth and the next iteration, the next era of We Are Family and ways we support LGBTQ youth in South Carolina, we know that being able to have a space for our youth to have community and sense of belonging, in addition to our virtual spaces,” Ruggerio said.
The building will be multifaceted, incorporating offices for Charleston Pride and the Alliance for Full Acceptance along with WAF. A boardroom is available for group meetings, along with a private therapy room where one of the 25 therapists WAF contracts with can use to meet with any incoming constituents for free, thanks to donations given to WAF for that purpose.
Ashley Peele, a board member of AFFA, said she sees the building as paving for a bright future for new community-centered projects and new collaborations.
“Knowing that we are supporting the same community, a lot of times we’re working together with one another,” Peele said. “It just made sense to be physically located together again as well, especially as We Our Family looks to expand their services that they’re offering and creating, not making a space, not just for our organizations, but for the community as a whole.”
Ruggerio cited that the space’s real value comes in the wake of a loss of resources for LGBTQ+ youth that were were previously available from other resources. The executive director mentioned the 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline as a recent example, which is slated to end tailored support options for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults on July 17, a story which QNotes previously reported on.
“The National Suicide Hotline shouldn’t be seen as supplemental. It is literally a lifeline,” Ruggerio said.
WAF has also included other vital services free to incoming youth, including mental health care. Each live-saving component installed at the center, as described by Ruggero, is an effort to get youth confident enough to then use the center’s life-affirming offerings like the library, plant therapy corner, games and group events.
“We know in South Carolina last year alone that 40 percent of our LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide. That is a stat, you know,” he said. “What we’re trying to do here is make sure that we let them know that there are spaces for them to be able to find community.”