Montgomery County’s first LGBTQ center opened on Saturday.

Makeda Richardson, chair of the board of directors of MoCo Pride Center, Inc., was joined by MoCo Pride Center, Inc. CEO Phillip Alexander Downie in welcoming members of the community to the brick-and-mortar LGBTQ resource center in downtown Bethesda. 

“Today, Aug. 30, we are making history together,” said Richardson. “With this event and ribbon cutting, we officially open the doors to the Montgomery County Pride Family Resource Center — the first LGBTQIA+ resource center in our county’s history.”

The Montgomery County Pride Family Resource Center, also known as the MoCo Pride Center, is located on the second floor of the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center (4805 Edgemoor Lane) and is now open seven days a week.

The LGBTQ community center is funded through donations, grants and community support in partnership with the local government of Montgomery County.

“This center is the result of years of organizing, coalition-building, and community advocacy,” Downie explained to the Washington Blade. “It is proudly operated by MoCo Pride Center, Inc., but it could not exist without the broader Montgomery County Pride Family.”

The Montgomery County Pride Family includes the Coalition for Inclusive Schools and Communities, Drag Story Hour DMV, Live In Your Truth, Maryland Trans Unity, MoCo Pride Prom, Poolesville Pride, and Trans Maryland.

“We are beginning with a strong foundation of peer-led support groups, including youth groups, trans and gender-expansive groups, and intergenerational spaces,” Downie told the Blade. “We will also provide linkage-to-care services — like HIV/STI testing, health navigation, and affirming referrals — alongside cultural and educational programs, identity-affirming workshops, and monthly queer market pop-ups.” 

A poster for upcoming events this week at the center includes listings for several support group meetings, sunset yoga, drag story hour, and a board game night.

The Pride Center’s programming includes free STI/HIV screenings, a lending library, crisis management, housing placement and drop in hours.

“This is what the Pride Center represents: a future centered on community and care,” said Downie to the gathered crowd at the opening of the center. “This Pride center is a working, living home for our community. It is a place where anyone can walk in seven days a week and know they will be met with dignity, respect, and care.”

“Here, people will find affirming support groups, a library of LGBTQ+ books and history, a safe drop-in space and connections to vital services,” Downie continued. “It is a hub for connection and care, from youth gatherings to trans and gender community meetings, to family outreach, community education, and cultural celebrations that uplift our history and our joy. And it is a place to come as you are: whether to gather in joy to seek resources, or to simply be in community.”

Speakers at the opening event included several government officials as well as members of the Montgomery Pride Family umbrella organization of local LGBTQ groups.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, said, “I want to reaffirm that we’re going to have unwavering support for LGBTQ+ rights. Montgomery County has made it clear that everyone deserves to be safe. And, I want to contrast this with the national climate. At a time when LGBTQ+ rights are under attack, whether it is bans on gender-affirming care or rollbacks in mental health resources, we’re choosing another path.”

“From enacting the Bill of Rights, to raising the Pride flag each June, we’re not just making statements: we’re making change,” Elrich continued.

The Montgomery County Council unanimously passed the “LGBTQ Bill of Rights” in 2020, expanding the anti-discrimination codes of the county to include gender expression and HIV status. The LGBTQ Bill of Rights explicitly bans LGBTQ discrimination in healthcare facilities, nursing homes and personal care facilities, according to a statement from the Council.

“Growing up trans and queer in Montgomery County in the ’80s and ’90s was not easy,” said Trans Maryland Executive Director Lee Blinder. “There was no representation of my identity and my world as a child. And that made for a challenging experience. Like so many other folks have mentioned today, having a center like this would have profoundly impacted my ability to understand myself, to connect with community, and to really have the kind of support that we all truly deserve to have.”

Other speakers at the ribbon-cutting ceremony included Montgomery County Council President Kate Stewart; Montgomery County Council Vice President Will Jawando; Montgomery County LGBTQ+ Community Liaison Amena Johnson; Montgomery County Council members Andrew Friedson and Evan Glass; Maryland state Del. Teresa Woorman; and Josie Caballero.

“And so just over Western Avenue, right down the road, we know there’s a lot of hate and there’s a lot of division — but not here in Montgomery County,” said Glass. “We are going to continue wrapping our arms around everybody, regardless of race, religion, gender identity, who we love. These are our values.”