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The Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center Opens In West Hollywood
A new transgender empowerment center just opened in West Hollywood.
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David McNew
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Getty Images North America
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A center that provides transgender people with job training, health and wellness services and other resources had its grand opening Friday in West Hollywood.
The Connie Norman Transgender Empowerment Center was founded by members of FLUX — a division of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation focused on the trans and gender non-conforming community.
The center will house nonprofits that serve the trans community, and will help those organizations sustain themselves, said FLUX President Queen Victoria Ortega.
The nonprofits will empower trans people in often overlooked ways, she said, like helping them get involved in local politics, or helping them get a job.
With a job, "you are able to manage your money, have credit here in the United States," Ortega said. "That will then allow you to purchase into having a home or renting an apartment where you can at least have a respite and then plan your future."
Tenants include the Unique Women's Coalition, which assists trans people with their IDs and legal documents, and Trans Can Work — which helps them find jobs and trains employers to support them.
The center is named after trans and AIDS activist Connie Norman.
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