Holly Gilvary
RACINE — The LGBT Center of Southeast Wisconsin shuttered its doors Friday, reportedly giving little notice to staff members.
Shay King, who served on the center's board from 2019 through February 2025, organized a gathering of staff, volunteers and community members outside of the LGBT Center, 1456 Junction Ave., Friday morning to request an audience with the board of directors.
King said staff members were eventually let into the center’s building on Friday to speak with board members, adding that the board declined requests from staff and community members to give public comment on the situation.
A post on the LGBT Center’s Instagram page published shortly after 1 p.m. Friday said the board informed staff Friday of the center’s closing and offered “no clear answers.”
The Instagram page and post have since been deleted.
The LGBT Center posted on Facebook at 4 p.m. Friday about the center’s dissolution, citing financial issues and struggles with the “challenging socio-political climate.”
“This decision has been made after careful consideration,” the post read. “Our past fundraising was not at a level to address the needs of unrestricted spending.”
All groups and events at the center are cancelled, the Facebook post said.
LGBT Center of Southeast Wisconsin Executive Director Barb Farrar did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
King, who uses they/them pronouns, said they’re worried about LGBTQ+ youth in the community who would attending the center’s Youth Art nights. Some LGBTQ+ adults have also told King they would not be alive without the LGBT Center.
“My goal with gathering everybody today was to hopefully establish that the community will not go anywhere,” King said. “We will look for ways to rehome the services and the programs that the LGBT Center of Southeast Wisconsin was (offering) because these services are life changing.”
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