The LGBTQ Center receives $30,000 grant to expand services

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Tanager Place LGBTQ Center has received a $30,000 grant that officials say will help expand programming and increase capacity for children and families it serves.

The grant was awarded by the health insurance company Amerigroup, Tanager Place officials announced Monday.

The LGBTQ Center, located within Tanager Place’s Estle Center, opened in 2018. The Center programming includes support groups, mentoring programs, tutoring, career exploration and other services for LGBTQ youth and others in need of a safe space with the goal of providing these children with the tools they need.

“The LGBTQ community, especially youth, go very unnoticed,” said Lori Ampey, director of the LGBTQ Center.

“I love the Center. It’s been always my dream to start it because I knew these kids — and they still do — take a beating,” she continued. “We offer youth support group, and when you just listen to their stories about their day at school, for many of them, it’s like a day of survival.”

According to Tanager Place officials, the funding from Amerigroup will put the Center on the path toward growth.

“The budget for the Center is largely scaled and relative to funding received,” Tanager Place officials said in a statement.

“Ideally, over $100,000.00 is needed to be able to conduct the programs and outreach we desire to. The Amerigroup funding will put us well on our way, almost half way, toward that bigger picture goal.“

Though COVID-19 has affected operations, the Center has been working with about 40 children per week from across Eastern Iowa, Ampey said.

With this new funding, Ampey hopes to create more programs to include both younger and older age groups. That includes creating a transitional support group for those aged 18 and older, who are leaving high school and starting the next stage of their lives.

Ampey said she sees more children questioning their sexuality at younger ages, particularly between fifth and sixth grades. She would like to establish a support group for parents to help them support their children through the process.

“The Center is here just as much for parents as it is for youth,” she said.

The Center offers services and supports to anyone free of charge, and is not limited to those who identify as LGBTQ. That includes allies and other supporters of LGTBQ youth.

Ampey said the funding also can help enable those individuals to bring more awareness and inclusion of LGBTQ youth in the community by creating an ally youth council at area high schools. Representatives would support fellow students and take more bring awareness back to their schools.

Tanager Place works with more than 4,000 children a year across its services and programs each year.

Amerigroup, an Anthem Co., is a managed-care organization providing health care for Medicaid beneficiaries in Iowa. Ampey said the company inquired about the LGBTQ Center’s programming and services before offering the grant.

“I felt their passion to want to help these kids at the Center,” Ampey said. “I felt their passion to want and come and get involved. I’m looking forward to having them come in and share what they do.”

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