SACRAMENTO, Calif. — More than five decades of LGBTQ advocacy in California’s capital region has given George Raya the experience — and audience — he needs to help a much younger effort, an organization in Placer County that only just gained momentum in the past couple of years.

Raya hosted a fundraiser last Sunday at Faces Nightclub for his 75th birthday to contribute to the Placer LGBTQ+ Center’s goal of raising $75,000 to be able to have a physical space — a need in Placer that the center has long hoped to fill.

“You would not believe you’re in the state of California if you just knew what’s happening around you there in Placer County,” Raya said.

Looking forward to Raya’s birthday fundraiser, Placer LGBTQ+ Center Board President and CEO Daniella Zimmerman was unsure if people would be aware of just how different Placer’s needs and resources are from Sacramento’s LGBTQ community.

Two locations of the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, the Lavender Heights location in midtown and the Marsha P. Johnson Center in south Sacramento, serve the LGBTQ community in the greater Sacramento area, including Placer County.

This doesn’t lessen the need for a center in Placer, Zimmerman said.

Local advocates, such as Kai, a young adult LGBTQ advocate from Placer County, said that this doesn’t lessen the need for a center in Placer.

“Our closest resources, big resources and center, would be in Sacramento,” said Kai, who requested their last name not be used out of concern for their safety and to discuss sensitive topics.

“That’s not too terribly far away but a lot of the kids that need support don’t have licenses yet and can’t get down to Sacramento, or they can’t come out to their families and have their families take them.”

Having a location that’s within walking distance from local high schools, near Sierra College and more accessible to the Placer community is crucial to the Placer LGBTQ+ Center’s mission.

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