As 2025 draws to a close, the Fresno EOC LGBTQ+ Resource Center is on the brink of permanent dissolution. Once a beacon of hope and a critical safety net for the region’s most vulnerable, the Center is now a casualty of federal gridlock, funding expiration, and structural fragility.
According to an October 6 letter shared by staff to The Fresno Bee, the Center’s funding is set to expire on December 27, 2025.
- The letter explicitly stated, “If additional grant funding is not awarded by that date, the program will end, and all positions will be eliminated.”
- Three dedicated employees who run the Center are currently at risk of losing their jobs.
- This potential closure is exacerbated by a record-breaking federal government shutdown in late 2025, which froze critical Department of Justice (DOJ) grants that the Center relied upon.
On October 31, 2025, Fresno EOC CEO Steven R. Lewis issued a memo announcing mass furloughs for over 600 employees effective January 1, 2026, confirming that “supportive” services like the LGBTQ+ Center would be suspended due to the lapse in federal funding.
To understand the magnitude of this loss, we must look at how the Center rose to fill a massive void in the community, only to face a “fiscal cliff” six years later.
Before the EOC Center existed, the community relied on the Fresno LGBT Community Center, operated by Gay Central Valley. When that center closed abruptly in 2017, it left the community without a LGBTQ+ physical space.
In 2019 the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission (EOC) stepped in to fill this gap. Unlike its predecessor, this new Center was integrated into a massive anti-poverty agency, utilizing a “Housing First” and trauma-informed approach.
For several years, the Center thrived, offering services that were otherwise inaccessible in the Central Valley:
- Medical Support: They launched the Trans Medical Needs Fund (TMNF), providing grants for gender-affirming items and medical co-pays that insurance wouldn’t cover.
- Mental Health: The Center provided culturally competent therapy and hosted support groups like “Down with the CIS-TEM!” and “Soup for My Family”.
- The Little Queer Library: On October 25, 2023, amidst national book bans, the Center opened a library in partnership with PFLAG to ensure access to diverse literature.
Despite its success, the Center’s reliance on temporary money began to show cracks.
- March 2024: Early warning signs appeared when the parent organization, Fresno EOC, executed a round of layoffs due to budget constraints.
- Housing Pipeline Severed: The closure of the EOC’s Sanctuary Youth Shelter severed the direct pipeline for getting homeless LGBTQ+ youth off the streets.
- April/May 2025 (The Relocation): In a cost-saving measure, the Center was moved from its high-visibility office/center on Fulton Street to an office suite at the EOC headquarters on Mariposa Street. This move stripped the Center of its identity as a community “living room,” turning it into a small space within a bureaucratic office.
- Event Cancellations: The decline in resources was palpable; the Center’s signature “Illuminate Our Pride” event did not happen in 2025. By November, the Center’s public calendar showed “0 events”.
If the Center closes its doors permanently on December 27, the impact on Fresno’s LGBTQ+ community will be catastrophic:
- Loss of Safe Space: Youth in crisis will lose a physical sanctuary and the “Safe Place” entry point, increasing the risk of trafficking and exploitation.
- Health Disparities: The Trans Medical Needs Fund – the only financial safety net of its kind in the area – will vanish, likely leading to increased rates of gender dysphoria and suicidality.
- Institutional Abandonment: The closure reinforces a narrative of abandonment, as the community watches their vibrant center shrink from a storefront to a suite, and finally, to nothing at all.
As of now, the staff waits in uncertainty, and the community faces a new year without its sanctuary.
Where to turn?
Queer Collective has stepped up to fill the void in general community connection and social cohesion. Queer Collective has effectively absorbed the need for a “third place” where LGBTQ+ residents can simply exist, connect, and find safety outside of their homes or workplaces. By hosting a wide array of consistent events, from wellness workshops and social gatherings to creative meet-ups they are maintaining the pulse of the community that the EOC center often anchored. Their comprehensive provider directory and focus on fostering community connection ensure that even if the EOC’s physical doors are shuttered, the community does not lose its network of resources or its sense of belonging.
Simultaneously, Casita Feliz is addressing the specific, high-need gap in culturally competent care and health advocacy, particularly for the Latine LGBTQ+ population that might otherwise be disproportionately impacted by the EOC’s reduction in services. While the EOC center provided broad support, Casita Feliz offers a specialized, “culturally relevant” safety net that focuses on health equity, justice, and holistic well-being. By providing essential services like HIV/AIDS prevention, peer-to-peer support groups, and a dedicated space for Latine queer identity, they are ensuring that the most vulnerable intersections of the community are not left behind. Together, these two organizations are diversifying the support landscape in Fresno, moving from a single centralized model to a more resilient network that can withstand the shifts in county or federal funding that threaten the EOC.
