Resource Center

The year was 1983. “Dallas” was on television, “Return of the Jedi” played at the movie theaters and Michael Jackson’s album “Thriller” dominated the radio. That was also the year when Resource Center got its start.The Center’s parent organization – the Dallas Gay Political Caucus, later known as the Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance – incorporated what was then called the Foundation for Human Understanding in June 1983. It was established with a focus on education and service, and a goal of achieving equality, recognition and equal rights for the gay and lesbian community in north Texas.As HIV and AIDS arrived in North Texas, the Foundation mobilized to deal with the pandemic. In 1985, it established the AIDS Resource Center as a source for community awareness and prevention education, legal services, a food pantry, clothing, household goods and emergency funding.Three years later in 1988, the Center established the Nelson-Tebedo Health Clinic for treatment, clinical drug trials and HIV testing. Today, the renamed Nelson-Tebedo Clinic also offers HIV dental, STD prevention and testing, medical case management, prevention and transgender health services. It also offers a PrEP Care program to reduce the spread of HIV though a combination of safer sex practices and a once-a-day prescription.Nutritional services are available at the Center's Health Campus on Reagan St. which include a food pantry and hot meals program. Also available at the Health Campus are HIV case management services and insurance services.After a fire damaged most of the Center’s facilities in 1989, the search was on to find a larger home. The Nelson-Tebedo Clinic and Food Pantry remained on Cedar Springs Road, while the rest of the organization moved into the former Metropolitan Community Church site on Reagan Street. It was renamed the John Thomas LGBT Community Center after the organization's first executive director.In 1998, the Foundation for Human Understanding changed its name to Resource Center of Dallas, and in 2013 became Resource Center. It operates the LGBT Community Center (including Youth First, Gray Pride and GenderBrave), Nelson-Tebedo Clinic, Fuse, and United Black Ellument. Through its health and medical services, the Center is a leader in HIV/AIDS education, prevention and services, and provides a full spectrum of STD prevention education, screenings and treatments.More than 1,200 volunteers and a paid staff of over 50 make Resource Center one of the largest centers of its kind in the United States. More than 60,000 people each year use the Center through its programs and services. From its roots as an advocacy group for civil rights regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, the Center continues its mission: to develop programs and offer services for the LGBTQ community, as well as individuals and families affected by HIV and AIDS.