The LGBT community is surviving after years of persecution. It has been treated with shame and suppression for centuries.

Member of the Maria Martinez said, “I was born like this. I am not ashamed, but at first, many people made me feel like I was weird. When I told my friends about being lesbian, I found out that I don’t have many true friends.”

Martinez suffered bullying from many people that she thought were her friends.

She said, “The person that I thought was my best friend was the one who started bullying me. I was afraid to tell my parents because my family is a really traditional Mexican family. It is very conservative, they are not open-minded to accept me.”

After years of suffering bullying from other people, she found out the Los Angeles LGBT Community Center. There she found others who treated her as an equal.

“I am very happy to find this center because they help me to understand that being lesbian is alright. I don’t have to pretend to be someone else,” she said.

According to the Los Angeles LGBT Center website, “Since 1969 the Los Angeles LGBT Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated LGBT individuals and families in Los Angeles and beyond.

Today the Center’s nearly 600 employees provide services that span four broad categories: Health, Social Services and Housing, Culture and Education, and Leadership and Advocacy.”

Luis Rodriguez is also part of the Los Angeles LGBT Community Center.

He said, “when I was little I always felt different. I don’t know how to explained, but I wasn’t interested in the same things like my brother.”

The LGBT community has one battle in common it fights for respect and equal rights.

Both Martinez and Rodriguez agree on one thing, they did not decide to be born like this, but I have decided to fight for my rights and the respect of others.

The center helped both to reconstruct their self-esteem because it was low esteem because of all the bullying that they receive.

The therapy helped them to accept themselves just like they really are.

Martinez agreed saying, “At some point in my life I really felt ashamed of myself because I thought that I was my parents’ shame because I was not like my parents want. I try to be like my brother. I started to do the same, but it did not make me happy.”

Both Martinez and Rodriguez receive advice from the center staff on how to talk with their families and understand them.

They said that they also gained a new family and they are very happy to be part of the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

Rodriguez expressed, “I am glad to be part of the Los Angeles LGBT Center because now I know who I am, and I have true friends. My parents accepted me exactly like I am because they love me.”

The center is located at 1625 N. Schrader Boulevard, Los Angeles.

The centers phone number is 323-993-7400.