Persad Center

01/30/2026

Hats off to our partners at PNC Foundation on their incredible investment in Pittsburgh! 🎉

Today, the City announced a $2 million gift to support the purchase of 15 much-needed Dept. of Public Works vehicles—strengthening essential city services.

At Persad, we know that strong communities are built through partnerships. We’re proud to work alongside PNC Foundation and grateful for their continued commitment to Pittsburgh and Persad. This is what community leadership looks like. 💙🚛

01/30/2026

🏋️‍♂️ Empower Your Fitness Journey at Phoenix Fitness—Right Here at Persad Center! 🏳️‍⚧️✨

More than just a gym, Phoenix Fitness at Persad Center is a space designed for transgender and nonbinary joy, strength, and community. Here, every rep, every step, and every lift is an affirmation of who you are—without fear, without judgment. 💪🏾🏋️‍♀️

💡 What makes us different?
🏳️‍⚧️ A FREE trans-affirming, body-positive environment
🤝 A community that celebrates you, not just your fitness goals
🌟 Resources that support your holistic well-being

At Persad Center, we’re committed to providing safe spaces where LGBTQ+ individuals can thrive. Whether you're starting fresh or leveling up, Phoenix Fitness is here for YOU. 🚀

Join us today: PhoenixfitnessgymHome | Phoenix Fitness Gym

Share this with a friend who would love to join a trans affirming gym!



Image description: A Phoenix Fitness promo static image featuring images of the facilities.

01/30/2026

"What the world need now..."

01/29/2026

01/29/2026

Today's announcement of this extraordinary gift from UPMC to support the City of Pittsburgh’s fleet is truly life saving and the ripple effect of this generosity will be felt across our entire community.

At Persad, we know that access to care doesn’t begin and end in an agency or clinic—it depends on strong public systems, rapid emergency response, and a city equipped to meet people where they are. UPMC’s leadership ensures that everyone in Pittsburgh, including Persad’s clients, can access the health, safety, and dignity they deserve.

We are deeply grateful and proud to call UPMC our partner and for this incredible show of partnership and commitment to Pittsburgh. This is what investing in community truly looks like. 💙

Today, Mayor O’Connor announced that UPMC has gifted $10 million for the City fleet.

This transformative donation will allow EMS to purchase 9 NEW ambulances and 1 NEW rescue truck this year and a similar number next year. This also allows the City to purchase 35 NEW Public Works trucks.

01/29/2026

💜 What if getting help didn’t mean explaining who you are first?

For too many LGBTQ+ people, anxiety, depression, and stress grow from years of being misunderstood, navigating unsafe spaces, or feeling forced to hide who they truly are. Finding a therapist who sees all of you — your identity, your experiences, your humanity — can feel impossible.

At Persad Center, therapy isn’t just about managing symptoms. It’s about healing in a space built for LGBTQ+ mental health, where your story is honored, your identity affirmed, and your growth supported. Our client’s journey shows what happens when compassion meets expertise: anxiety loosens its grip, depression feels less isolating, and confidence begins to return. 🌈

You don’t have to carry this alone. Mental health care for LGBTQ+ people isn’t a luxury — it’s essential. Support, affirmation, and community care can change lives.

💜 Start your healing journey today with Persad Center — because every q***r person deserves to feel safe, seen, and supported.

01/28/2026

Out of an abundance of caution, the Thursday, January 29 Coffee & Conversation with the OWLS is cancelled. These are unprecedented weather times, and your safety is Persad's top priority.

If you are interested in meeting Thursday via Zoom at 10 AM, send Jen a email to jblatz@persadcenter.org and she will send you the link. Otherwise, see you on Thursday, February 5.

Stay safe & warm!
--Your Persad Family

01/27/2026

They tried to erase lives by marking people as “undesirable.”

Jewish people were forced to wear the yellow star. Disabled people were targeted and murdered. LGBTQ+ people — especially gay men — were forced to wear the pink triangle, a symbol meant to shame, isolate, and dehumanize.

Between 5,000 and 15,000 LGBTQ+ people were imprisoned in N**i concentration camps, many of them also Jewish or disabled — their identities overlapping, their humanity denied, their lives stolen. What was meant to erase them has instead become a symbol of remembrance and resistance.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we honor every life lost and every story silenced. As LGBTQ+ people continue to face rising hate, violence, and erasure today, remembering this history is not optional — it is a responsibility.

At Persad Center, we believe remembrance must lead to action. We create spaces where LGBTQ+ people are seen, affirmed, and supported in their mental health and healing — without fear, without shame, and without having to disappear to survive.

We remember.
We resist.
And we care for one another — always.

01/27/2026

Today, on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we remember the 6 million Jews murdered by the N**is—and we also honor the many other victims of N**i persecution, including gay men and other LGBTQ+ people.

Thousands were arrested under anti-gay laws, imprisoned in concentration camps, and forced to wear the pink triangle as a mark of shame. Many did not survive. Those who did were often silenced for decades after the war, their suffering ignored and their stories untold.

Remembering the pink triangle is a reminder that hatred and dehumanization take many forms—and that visibility, dignity, and human rights matter for everyone.
We remember. We mourn. We commit to never forgetting.

May their memory be a blessing. 🕯️

01/27/2026