News & Stories

Leonard Litz Trustees were honored to attend the National Lambda Legal Liberty Awards, an annual dinner recognizing outstanding achievers in the LGBTQ+ equality movement while raising funds to continue the fight. This year’s ceremony honored former Attorney General Eric Holder for his longstanding and continued commitment to the intersecting movements for racial justice and LGBTQ+ equality. These galas are a great excuse to get dressed up and connect with friends while helping to raise much-needed resources for each respective organization. Here are some memorable moments from our trips to recent events supporting Lambda Legal, GLAAD, and Odyssey Teen Camp. And as a bonus, here is Leonard Litz Executive Director Colin Hosten and his husband Joe at this year’s White House Correspondents Dinner. Huge thank you to our friends at The Washington Blade for the invitation!

Almost exactly one year ago, the Leonard Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation announced a commitment to partner with members of the Greater Bridgeport Pride Committee to establish the Bridgeport Pride Center, a permanent community center focused on creating safe and empowering resources and opportunities to the LGBTQ+ community in Connecticut’s largest city. What a difference once year makes. It was an ambitious goal, but today, we are thrilled to share that the Bridgeport Pride Center has been official incorporated, with a beautiful space to call home on Elm Street, a dedicated and active Board of Directors, and an operational team led by a dynamic Executive Director. And we’re just getting started. Be sure to join what will be Bridgeport’s biggest and most fabulous Pride celebration yet on June 22, and reach out to info@bridgeportpridecenter.org to learn more about how you can connect with the programs and services that will soon be regularly available at the Center.

Please join the Leonard Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation in congratulating the legacy volunteers of the Greater Bridgeport Pride Committee, who were recognized with the Futures Award at this year’s CT Voice Honors. From humble beginnings to remarkable achievements, the Greater Bridgeport Pride Committee embodies a shared history that inspires us all to embrace diversity, celebrate inclusion, and forge an even brighter future together. Congratulations, as well, to our very own Executive Director, Colin Hosten, who was identified as an LGBTQ+ Trailblazer in the Pride issue of OUTSPOKEN, a publication of The LOFT Community Center. “I can be who I am today in large part because of the trailblazers who fought before me,” says Colin. “It is incumbent on me—on all of us—to fight for the joys of those who will come after us.” Congratulations, all around!

Leonard Litz is pleased to announce the launch of SilverConnect. There is  an entire generation of LGBTQ+ people who are entering the 55-plus age group in record numbers. Yet this demographic is often marginalized, overlooked, and ignored even (or especially) within the LGBTQ+ community. While we recognize and join the urgent efforts to help young people navigate the often challenging journeys of coming out of the closet, understanding their gender and sexual identities, and finding meaningful connections and community, we know it is equally important to remember that older LGBTQ+ people have the same needs, but often lack the support and resources to achieve them. And the experience of surviving a(nother) pandemic and adjusting to the lingering feelings of isolation, loneliness, and solitude has not helped, either. SilverConnect is intended to celebrate our community as we enter our Golden years. It is time to bring the Sexy Back to Seniors. From depression and other mental health concerns, to food insecurity, to technology challenges, to legal hurdles, and more, SilverConnect seeks to support organizations and programs that support, connect, empower, and respect our aging LGBTQ+ population. Grant consideration will be given to applications that promote: Connective / Community programming Mental health…

We at Leonard Litz join the LGBTQ+ community in mourning the passing of David Mixner, a political activist who never rested in his unrelenting advocacy for LGBTQ+ people. From fighting for the rights of LGBTQ+ teachers in California, to his anti-war activism and his role in helping to end the law known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” his loss will be felt far and wide. “All of my peers died of AIDS, and I have no one to celebrate my past or my journey, or to help me pass down stories to the next generation,” he once said. “We lost an entire generation of storytellers.” Thankfully, we can be assured that the legacy of David Mixner will be felt for generations to come—in part through the David Mixner Fellowship, which the Leonard Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation is proud to support with our friends at CUNY. We hope you can now, finally, rest in peace, David.  

The Hebrew word chaya or chaim means life. When we say l’chaim in celebration—of marriage, of family, of friends—we are raising a toast in celebration of the precious and fragile gift of life. This year has not been an easy one, in too many ways, for too many people. Coming off the heels of a global pandemic that claimed millions of lives, we have continued to see innocent civilians being caught in the crossfires of war—in Ukraine, in Israel, in Gaza. War can be rooted in complicated ideology, but it’s not hard for all of us to agree that the loss of innocent life anywhere is tragic and heartbreaking. One of the tenets of the concept of intersectionality is not just that we all bear multi-faceted identities, but that the struggles for freedom and full self-actualization are all linked. Reproductive rights are human rights. Black lives matter. Everyone deserves to live in peace. At the Leonard Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation, we stand in solidarity with our queer family and allies under siege both around the world, and right here in the U.S., where craven political attacks on LGBTQ+ families, and on trans youth in particular, have disrupted so many lives, creating…

Too many individuals have needlessly been harmed or lost their lives simply because they dared to exist as their whole selves. The Leonard Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation stands in solidarity with our transgender, gender non-confirming, and nonbinary family, as we remember on reflect on all those brave individuals who have been viciously targeted by violence.

This summer, volunteers with the Greater Bridgeport Pride Committee came together to put on the city’s biggest and boldest Pride celebration ever. The weekend-long affair featured a Pride March, live performances, food trucks, art exhibits, a variety show, and a cabaret extravaganza. We at the Leonard Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation were thrilled to both support and attend. Bridgeport is Connecticut’s largest city, home to a history as colorful and diverse as its people. Unfortunately, in one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, Bridgeport too often stands out for the wrong reasons. Relatively high rates of poverty. Under-resourced public services. Questionable political leaders. Yet none of this was on display during Pride. It was a celebration not just of the vibrant LGBTQ+ community there, but of the City of Bridgeport itself. Yes, there are urgent and critical needs in the city, but those are not seen as liabilities. They are opportunities. Folks have long talked about the lack of a dedicated space serving the Greater Bridgeport LGBTQ+ community. Now the time has come to make it happen. In July, the Leonard Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation announced a commitment to partner with members of the Greater Bridgeport Pride Committee to establish the…

In 2021 and 2022, the Leonard Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation awarded grants to the ACLU of Connecticut to help fund its civil rights case on behalf of Veronica-May Clark, an incarcerated person suing the CT Department of Corrections on the grounds that they had failed to treat her gender dysphoria for years. We firmly believe that Trans Rights are Human Rights, even if—or especially if—a person is incarcerated. These kinds of civil rights lawsuits can often snail their way through the court system, with both sides filing a variety of motions to make their case. Happily, in September 2023, in a comprehensive ruling, Judge Vanessa Bryant found in favor of Ms. Clark. While the decision has been appealed by the state, this decision means that Ms. Clark is one step closer to getting the critical care that she needs. This is an important example of how the Leonard Litz Advocacy Fund is intended to be used to help support specific projects aimed at advancing progress for LGBTQ+ people broadly. Ms. Clark’s case will affect not only her own healthcare, but will hopefully help ensure that every single LGBTQ+ person in Connecticut is treated with dignity and equity. Bravo to Ms. Clark,…

Each year, Odyssey Teen Camp provides hundreds of LGBTQ+ teenagers with a space where they can feel safe to be themselves, make lifelong friends, explore their creativity, laugh a lot, and find compassion for themselves and for others. This is the kind of experience and community that helps young people navigate their lives with more ease, hope, and happiness. But Odyssey cannot succeed in this mission without your help! As a non-profit camp, Odyssey relies on donations to operate. And thanks to a matching grant from The Leonard Litz LGBTQ+ Foundation, you have a chance to double your support. Every dollar raised up to $40,000 will be matched 100%. Please click here to help Odyssey Teen Camp continue to offer a summer program that gives young people an outlet to be exactly who they are. Any contribution is appreciated, and goes a long way to help LGBTQ+ youth feel as welcome and celebrated as they all deserve to be.