United Under the Rainbow Flag
For visitors, the lively nightlife scene might be the most visible aspect of New Orleans' gays and lesbians, but the gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals, and transgendered (GLBT) community of New Orleans is strengthened and united by the city's caring, socially active side. Several groups and non-profit organizations support the causes and issues important to GLBT New Orleans, and they are working more closely together now than ever before.
Perhaps the largest, best-known organization is the NO/AIDS Task Force which first emerged during the AIDS epidemic of the early 1980s and has grown and added to its scope of services ever since. Its overall mission is to help people living with HIV or AIDS while preventing the disease's spread, and the organization's events have become part of New Orleans culture. The annual NO/AIDS Walk fundraiser is always a success, many restaurants around the city donate a percentage of a night's profits during an evening called Dining Out for Life, and Art Against AIDS brings together visual, culinary, and musical artists for a glamorous holiday gala.
Just as the tragedy of the AIDS epidemic served to unite the New Orleans GLBT community, the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina is doing the same. Many organizations lost their buildings, equipment and more after the levees failed. And because the city's population base shrank, they also lost established networks of support even though needs hadn't diminished. Many GLBT organizations are now unified under a new umbrella organization called the Community Coalition whose purpose is to strengthen bonds and allocate support.
In addition to the NO/AIDS Task force, some organizations that are part of the Community Coalition are PFLAG, which supports friends and families of GLBT persons, the Human Rights Campaign, which advocates for equality on gay issues, and Belle Reve, a live-in facility for people living with HIV/AIDS.
The Metropolitan Community Church actively welcomes GLBT congregants, and just about every New Orleans university has at least one gay and lesbian organization.
The Community Coalition
(504) 569-9156
www.tccgno.org
NO/AIDS Task Force
2601 Tulane Ave., Suite 500
New Orleans, LA 70119
(504) 821-2601
www.noaidstaskforce.org
PFLAG
(504) 862-5912
P.O. Box 15515
New Orleans, LA 70175
www.pflagno.org
Human Rights Campaign
www.hrc.org
Belle Reve
3027 Royal St.
New Orleans, LA 70117
(504) 945-9455
www.bellereve.org
Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) of Greater New Orleans
PO Box 71024
New Orleans, LA 70172
(504) 945-5390
Meeting Location: St. Matthew UCC
1333 S. Carrollton Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70118
Lesbian and Gay Community Center of New Orleans
2114 Decatur Street
New Orleans, 70116
www.lgccno.net
Forum For Equality Louisiana
336 Lafayette Street
Suite 200
New Orleans, LA 70130
Office: (504) 569-9156
Fax: (504) 523-8522
www.forumforequality.com
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