La Sala LGBTQ youth center provides resources, support in Washington Heights

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) -- La Sala is a place for LGBTQ+ people in Washington Heights to feel at home.

La Sala provides a safe space to for teens and young adults. It started with eight transgender women seven years ago. Currently, there are more than 100 people who benefit from the center.

A group of friends got together at La Sala Friday evening. Demi Figueroa was voguing her night away. As a transgender woman, she says the place means sanity.

“We need to be around people like ourselves. We need to feel like we can have a space to come together and hang out. Sometimes we don’t feel comfortable going out to make friends,” said Figueroa.

Founded in 2017 by the Dominican Women’s Development Center, La Sala, which translates into “the living room,” is a drop-in program for LGBTQ+ youth in uptown Manhattan.

"When I first came to the organization, I came because of that because of the homelessness in youth. Latinos are the first ones to kick their child out because they are gay,” said Elizabeth Javier, the program director. She added most of the members of La Sala have been displaced overnight from their homes.

La Sala currently has about 130 active members from all over the tri-state area and beyond. Members also get help with food, clothing, laundry, counseling, education, finding permanent housing and employment. They can come in to shower and take a nap if they need to.

“It creates a sense of community being here. La Sala represents a safe space for my community, which is very important because we don’t have too many safe spaces up here in Washington Heights and the Harlem area,” said Nelson Barrera, who joined La Sala when it first opened. He now works for the center as a peer educator helping young adults in crisis.

They are safe spaces that they are hoping to expand across the five boroughs. They are aiming to also to able to provide housing for unsheltered LGBTQ+ youth for a period of at least 72 hours.

“We know there is a taboo within our Latino culture when it comes to LGBTQ. And we wanted a space where children and teens can become accepted that feels like home, where parents can get information,” said Carolina Capella, director of the Dominican Women's Development Center.

For Georgiana Rivamontes, La Sala is not only where he found her extended family.

“My mom, she wasn’t so fond with it. She was shocked. 'What, you're gay?' She was not happy with it,” Rivamontes said.

This living room is where she also found ways to navigate her own coming out process.

“You feel welcomed, a bond, a connection. You feel like you belong, and that is very important for us LGBT to feel that,” said Rivamontes.