We sat down with Vito, who is hosting our very first PRIDE donation class on Thursday, June 16th at 5:30PM. We are coming together as a community and raising funds for the San Diego LGBT Community Center. To donate, click here.

The San Diego LGBT Community Center enhances and sustains the health & well-being of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender, nonbinary, immigrant, and HIV communities to the betterment of our entire San Diego region. Your donation would help to ensure that every person feels and knows that they are welcomed, valued, and supported. As the beacon for our regional LGBTQ community, each day we actively recommit to be a more vibrant, bold, innovative, safe, and modern Center than the day before.

What does Pride mean to you?

I think for the longest time, pride was and is still seen as parades, parties and fun drinks. The community is still seen as somewhat “strange” or “wrong” so to me being able to celebrate being who we are and the progress we’ve made as a society is a huge step towards a better world, one in which we won’t even need to “come out” or feel “different” because of our sexuality/gender identity. As a member of the LGBTQ community, I think it is safe to say that a lot of us share similar experiences in terms of the way the world sees us or the process of “coming out” and the complications/consequences that come with it, so celebrating pride means so much to me, in more ways than one, it gives hope to LGBTQ+ youth and reassurance that they’re not alone especially the ones that are not able to fully be themselves or express themselves and that feel like they’ll never be able to do so.

What’s one piece of advice you can give to LGBTQ+IA youth reading this?

One piece of advice I can give to the lgbtq+ youth reading this, is to be patient with yourself, be kind to yourself and never seek validation or acceptance, it is not up to the outside world to validate or accept your existence.

How are you committed to helping the LGBTQ+IA Community?

Ways I help the community is through being myself and showing up as me fully, not fearing how the outside world might perceive me or think about me. I am always trying to educate my peers, family and people around me, because it is of great importance for others to understand what it means to be part of this community and the struggles some of us face as a result of harmful actions/words of society due to lack of education.

Activate House has always been and will continue to strive for inclusivity, diversity and creating a community that is open and full of acceptance. We believe that individuals with different backgrounds, experiences and abilities are an integral part of our community. We hold this space as a home to all experiences, genders, races, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion and ages. In our house, you belong. We strive for an inclusive culture where everyone can thrive. To read more about our responsibilities, click here.