LGBTQ center Destination Tomorrow working to empower clients, communities in Bronx
NEW YORK -- An LGBTQ center in the Bronx is the only one of its kind in the borough.
Serving over 5,000 people every year, Destination Tomorrow is working to empower its clients within themselves and also their communities.
The Pride flag is officially up in the Bronx and one organization raising it to the top is making strides in the borough.
"This is a part of Destination Tomorrow," said Sage Rivera, director of programs.
For nearly five years, Rivera has worked at one of the only LGBTQ centers in the Bronx.
"We are one of the only centers that are trans people of color founded, managed, and run and we pride ourselves being about to speak the language of the community," Rivera said.
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Rivera says Destination Tomorrow is a space where residents can come to be themselves.
"They can dance here however they want to dance without having to look over their shoulder and be judged," Rivera said.
And that can happen while the center creates strong values for an inclusive environment.
"We have community agreements -- everyone respect one another, speak with kindness," Rivera said.
The center offers an array of services, like support group to youth programming.
"That's our testing room, so here we offer free HIV counseling and testing," Rivera said as he showed CBS2 around the center.
"It felt like there were a lack of resources here and even resources that was available didn't really resonate with Black and brown LGBT folks," said Sean Ebony Coleman, founder and CEO of Destiny Tomorrow.
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Coleman says while growing up in Brooklyn, he dreamed of a space like Destination Tomorrow, a place filled with inclusivity and people just like him.
"Could you imagine being a trans young person and you don't identify with folks your neighborhood and you start to believe you're alone, that no one is here locally that can understand you?" Coleman said.
With Bronx Pride Week right around the corner, Coleman said he also wants LGBTQ allies to reflect on their role in the community all year long.
"For me, Pride is about reflecting on what we've been able to accomplish and what we want to accomplish," Coleman said. "We all love a good celebration and Pride is a good celebration and we want you to be a part of the festivities with us, but we don't want you to leave us when they're gone."
The Bronx Pride Festival will transform a section of Westchester Avenue in the South Bronx with a list of exciting headliners and dozens of agencies and vendors. Destination Tomorrow says it is all about reinforcing its visibility in the bough.
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