Savannah Pride Center receives check for $10,000 from city

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The City of Savannah presented a $10,000 check to Savannah Pride Center Thursday morning.

The presentation signals a new partnership between the city and the local service organization. The announcement is part of a recent initiative to support both housing resources for the LGBTQIA+ community and programming for LGBTQIA+ youth and older individuals.

“This initiative advances several of the City’s strategic goals, including ending homelessness, improving housing stability, and connecting vulnerable residents to community-based services that meet them where they are,” said City Manager Jay Melder. “The Pride Center is a valued partner, and we’re proud to serve our LGBTQIA+ community together.”

“Trans and gender expansive people come to our door or they give us a call, and they let us know they are facing homelessness,” Michael Bell, executive director of Savannah Pride Center said. “The past few months, what we’ve had to do is tell them the best place to seek shelter is outside, because the shelter system can be so dangerous when forcing trans and gender expansive people to go to a shelter based on their gender assigned at birth.”

The Savannah Pride Center said they will utilize the monetary gift equally for housing support and resources for individuals experiencing homelessness, including a 30-to-90-day sheltering program, as well as other services and programs.

“This is coming at a time when many LGBTQIA+ organizations across this country are losing federal funding, when programs are shrinking, and when the most vulnerable in our communities are being pushed further into the margins. Moments like this matter.” said Bell.