A Message of Solidarity and Strength for the LGBTQIA+ Community
Drawing strength from our resilient history of self-support in difficult times.
We must acknowledge the weight of this moment. The barrage of anti-LGBTQ legislation and executive orders spreading across states has created a climate of fear and uncertainty that feels suffocating. Many of us lie awake wondering if our marriages will be respected, if our children will be protected, if our healthcare will be denied, if our very existence will be erased from schools and public life. Some of us are updating legal documents, having difficult conversations with family, or contemplating moves to safer places. This fear is real. This anxiety is valid. This anger is justified.
When shadows of fear and uncertainty loom, remember that our community has always found light in each other. This legacy of self-support runs deep in Houston's own soil. In 1978, over 120 members of our community gathered at a historic town hall meeting in Montrose. From that single evening of collective purpose emerged organizations that have supported generations: the Montrose Counseling Center (now the Montrose Center), providing mental health support when mainstream providers turned us away, and the Montrose Clinic (now Legacy Community Health), which became a lifeline during the AIDS crisis.
The Montrose Clinic started in a small house, staffed by volunteer doctors and nurses from our own community who understood our needs. When the AIDS crisis hit Houston, these community-built institutions became crucial harbors of hope. Then, as now, we faced hostile legislation and government indifference. Yet our people expanded services, trained as HIV counselors, and created food banks and housing programs. The Assistance Fund (later, AIDS Foundation Houston, and now Allies in Hope) emerged from our community's determination that no one should face crisis alone.
During the darkest days of the AIDS crisis nationwide, when government officials wouldn't even speak the disease's name, our community created GMHC (Gay Men's Health Crisis) in Larry Kramer's living room in 1981. ACT UP formed in 1987, turning grief into powerful action. When hospitals turned away our dying loved ones, we built networks of care homes and trained ourselves to be caregivers.
Before that, the Daughters of Bilitis formed in 1955, creating safe spaces for lesbian women when society offered none. Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson established STAR House in 1970, providing shelter for homeless LGBTQ youth when no one else would. The Lesbian Switchboard started in 1972, becoming a lifeline for isolated people who just needed to hear a friendly voice say "you are not alone."
Today, we follow in the footsteps of courageous LGBTQ pioneers who navigated their own times of hostility and fear. Their legacy teaches us powerful lessons: when government support disappears, we construct our own support systems; when society pushes us apart, we draw closer together; when others try to make us invisible, we ensure our stories are told and preserved. The Diana Foundation, established in 1953 and now Texas's oldest continuously active LGBTQ organization, exemplifies this resilience. We've created our own media sources to keep our community informed—publications like the Montrose Voice, This Week in Texas, and OutSmart Magazine. We're also actively preserving our history through dedicated archives at the JD Doyle Archives, The Dalton Dehart Photographic Foundation, and both the University of Houston and Rice University LGBTQ collections.
Look around you - in Houston and beyond, LGBTQ people are still creating community centers, online support networks, mutual aid funds, and chosen families. Right now, organizations are forming legal defense funds, creating emergency resource guides, and building support networks for families under attack. This is what we do. This is who we are. We don't just survive - we create, we build, we love, we celebrate.
Your fear is not weakness - it is a signal to connect. Your anxiety is not defeat - it is a call to action. Our community has faced waves of backlash before. Each time, we've emerged stronger, more organized, and more connected. Your Houston ancestors in this movement dealt with their fear by reaching out, by organizing, by showing up for each other. The Montrose Center still stands today as testament to their vision and resilience. Now it's our turn.
You are not alone. You are part of a legacy of resilience. Find your local LGBTQ organizations. Attend community meetings. Offer help where you can. Accept help when you need it. Our strength has always been in our connections to each other.
The light of pride and dignity that our Houston elders lit continues to burn in you. Keep it burning bright.
Houston LGBTQ Community Resources
Here is a list of just some community resources:
The Montrose Center: Comprehensive mental health, wellness, and community services - www.montrosecenter.org
Legacy Community Health: LGBTQ-affirming healthcare services - www.legacycommunityhealth.org
Allies in Hope: (Previously AIDS Foundation Houston) HIV/AIDS services, prevention, and advocacy - https://www.aihhouston.org
Pride Houston 365: Community events and annual celebration - www.pridehouston.org
PFLAG Houston: Support for LGBTQ people, families, and allies - www.pflaghouston.org
Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT): Trans advocacy and support - www.transtexas.org
Organización Latina de Trans en Texas (OLTT): Support for Latinx trans community - www.latinatranstexas.org
OutSmart Magazine: LGBTQ news and resources - www.outsmartmagazine.com
Resurrection MCC: LGBTQ-affirming spiritual community - www.resurrectionmcc.org
Hatch Youth: Programs for LGBTQ youth ages 13-20 - www.hatchyouth.org
Houston LGBTQ Political Caucus: Political advocacy - www.thecaucus.org
Diana Foundation: Community grants and support - www.thedianafoundation.org
Tony's Place: Drop-in center for LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness - www.tonysplace.org
Grace Place: provides a safe, welcoming environment for vulnerable youth experiencing homelessness of all sexualities and genders, providing nourishment, healthy relationships, and hope for the future. -
The Dalton Dehart Photographic Foundation: This site currently has 316,990 original photos taken by Dalton spanning from 1990 to 2025. -
The JD Doyle Archives: the JD Doyle Archives gathers, digitizes, and shares LGBTQ music and Houston/Texas LGBTQ History -
University of Houston LGBT History Research Collection: - The collection includes personal papers, organizational records, publications, and library collections that preserve and promote the collective understanding of Houston’s and the region’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender communities and service organizations. - https://libraries.uh.edu/special-collections/lgbt
Rice University LGBTQ+ Archival Collections: Oral history interviews, written and electronic transcriptions of the interviews, and research materials including news clippings related to the interviews and the history of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Houston, Texas. - https://libguides.rice.edu/lgbtq-plus-archives
ACLU of Texas: Legal support and advocacy - www.aclutx.org
Lambda Legal South Central Regional Office: Civil rights litigation and advocacy - www.lambdalegal.org