Oasis Community Pride Center empowers LGBTQ+ community
NEW YORK (PIX11) -- A place for members of the LGBTQ+ community to feel at home, the Oasis Community Pride Center provides comprehensive services that support and foster the health and well-being of Latinx communities while also building bridges among them and their family members.
Celebrating 10 years, Oasis is a place of acceptance and empowerment for people from all walks of life.
“We realized that while we wanted to provide spaces for our community, we didn’t provide a physical space that was safe, that was affirming. That was empowering,” said Leandro Rodriguez, co-founder of Oasis Community Pride Center.
Oasis was founded in 2014 under the Latino Commission on Aids, an agency that has been operating for 35 years. Some of the services provided here are sexual health, including HIV testing and screening, substance abuse, counseling, and group-level support, not only for members of the LGBTQ+ community but also for their families.
“Part of our mission is to eradicate homophobia and transphobia. Interestingly enough, we discovered that when we provide services just to the community, we don’t get to impact the world. With intention, Oasis created spaces also for family members,” added Rodriguez.
Santiago Aguana knows how meaningful it is to find a place like this one. He fled Ecuador a decade ago because of his sexual orientation.
I found my family here in Oasis. 10 years ago, I was trying to find a community. In Ecuador, you can’t be like gay open, like in the United States. Basically, my family is ok now, but at the beginning, that was the reason I came to this country to be myself,” said Santiago.
As an organization rooted in HIV prevention, fighting stigma is a top priority, especially among the Latinx community.
“What brought me here is my interest in getting tested for HIV, a really welcoming environment, and that’s what makes me want to stay,” said Ruben Rodriguez.
“As a part of the LGBT community and as a part of a community living with HIV, outside, there is a lot of discrimination, transphobia, but here we welcome everybody as our house,” stated Salma Marmolejo.
For the last 10 years, Oasis has provided services to more than 6 thousand individuals. Following the coronavirus pandemic, there’s been a higher need to address mental health. Oasis runs through fundraising, private donors, and state and federal funding.
“We are very vigilant to see what the federal government scope is, we are very concerned about the cuts to HHS to the CDC and we have worked with our Board of Directors to make sure that we are prepared so that our community members don’t suffer,” said Rodriguez when asked about potential cuts from the Trump Administration impacting them.
Although Oasis offers services citywide, the goal is to open up a site in each of the boroughs.