Hello,
I was wondering if anyone on here has visited an LGBT center, not necessarily to volunteer, but maybe for someone to talk to. I was thinking of visiting one in my area, but I'm not sure what they offer. They seem to be more geared toward youth and I am past that. I looked at the website and they seem to have groups that meet occasionally. So, I was wondering what your experience was. Do they have people to talk to? Was it helpful? What kind of things did they have to offer? It would be great to talk to someone.
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It really depends on the center and, the people that go there. I'd go, more or less as an observer, see if the center had anything to offer me. Just go check it out in person and decide form there if you want to go back or not.
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Lots of LGBT centres (at least in the UK) have drop in coffee meetings once a month where you can just go, introduce yourself and make some new friends. They also usually organise social events that are pretty much open to anyone.
Id find a contact number/email or web site, and find out what they offer and take it from there.
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It can be quite hard to find an lgbt centre that does cater for someone who isnt a teenager or around that age range, the one thats in my town is for those upto 25 and I haven't seen anything for those older then that. There are other things though like clubs like cycling or hiking for example where theres less emphasis on the fact that the people there are gay and more on having a laugh with those with that similarity.
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Maybe a LGBT centre would be the right place to enquire about other groups at least, even if they don't deal specifically with the older set... Maybe they can send you to some other groups that they know. I'd venture that even if they cater to youths and teenagers, the people in charge are probably older and may belong to other groups themselves. There's no harm in asking.
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There is a LGBT book club I sometimes attend in Portland...but that's pretty much it, we read and discuss literature.
You could try one of the many LGBT college clubs out there. I attended one my freshman year of college, but I only stuck around for a few months. It didn't really offer much for me. Most of the members seemed to be more focused on "landing a hot guy" and "friends with benefits" than actually discussing LGBT issues. I'm not into that sort of thing, so I left. But every place is different, I say try one of the college campus clubs and see how you like it.
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