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QuickTake:
The Lavender Network, the Eugene LGBTQ community center that opened in a former church in 2024, is a place for people to connect while getting support and care amid rising national threats to LGBTQ rights.
Lavender Network, Eugene’s LGBTQ community center, opened the day before the 2024 presidential election.
Knowing the outcome would have significant consequences for LGBTQ rights, the center hosted a vigil for community members to sit and watch the results. One person drove from Klamath Falls — a six-hour round trip — to join the event, not wanting to be alone, but not having a closer option.
Naphtali Renshaw, who coordinates the network’s building operations and bookings, always knew the space would be vital.
“It just really highlighted, from the beginning, how much community was already needed and how much it would be needed,” Renshaw said.
The Lavender Network is in a former church on a nondescript road in northwest Eugene. It is large, more than 20,000 square feet, and thanks to an interior courtyard and abundant windows, very sunny. In addition to being an event space, the center consolidates the services of several partner organizations, including sexually transmitted infection testing, food and clothing distribution and behavioral health resources.
The goal is to make it a “one-stop shop,” said Laura Henry, the network’s manager.
The network has seen sustained growth since opening. In April, it hosted 168 events — up from 20 events during its first month. Many of the events are led by community members like Alex Meek, who hosts a queer crafting circle.
“I wanted to hang out with more queer people and do crafts and I couldn’t find anything,” Meek said. They were encouraged by Lake Castagna, executive director of Queer Eugene, to host the event. “Within a week, I had filled out some paperwork to get approved to host the event, and started hosting it.
“It’s really important to have that space. It’s really nice to have somewhere to go and feel safe.”
Despite the warm community reception, some feel the facility is not accessible enough for those without cars. A series of anonymous social media posts called out the lack of public transportation access to the site. In a statement, the network acknowledged that bus service is limited, and said it’s working with the city to increase service.
The need for a space
Before the network, queer and trans resource organizations were scattered across Eugene.
In 2021, two nonprofits, Transponder and HIV Alliance, partnered to make the Queer Resource Center, but at 2,000 square feet, it wasn’t big enough.
“They did as many services as they could in such a small space,” Henry said. But events “overflowed the space way more than they could facilitate.”
Then, in 2023, the HIV Alliance received a $470,000 grant from Trillium Health to expand. The organization also renamed to Lavender Network, paying homage to a 90s-era Eugene queer newspaper that documented the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region.
The HIV Alliance started as a hospice for AIDS patients. Advocacy and advancements in public health are often credited with significantly decreasing the mortality rate, as are resources, including accessible disease testing and education. The network now serves a larger swath of the LGBTQ community in Lane County.
“Every day you see lifesaving and life-affirming care being offered,” Renshaw said.
The center goes beyond health care, bringing in other LGBTQ organizations including Queer Eugene, which facilitates local events, and Eugene Pride, which runs the annual pride festival.
In Oregon, LGBTQ folks are twice as likely to face food insecurity. These disparities widen for community members who are also people of color and/or transgender. Transponder’s Free Food Program, which operates out of the center, attempts to bridge that gap.
By having community events and resources in one place, Henry hopes to destigmatize accessing resources like free food and disease testing. HIV Alliance and Transponder’s preexisting services have grown since the Lavender Network launched, says Henry.
Growing threats to the LGBTQ community
In the six months since the Lavender Network opened, the LGBTQ community has faced widespread attacks from the federal government.
In several executive orders and policies, the Trump administration has targeted the rights of transgender Americans. The constitutionality of these actions is under question, and many are tied up in court challenges.
Oregon is sheltered from the immediate impacts of federal legislation due to state protections, but there is uncertainty about the future.
Experts question whether state shield laws will be enough. The Trump administration has started to target states, including Maine, that defy executive actions to protect their LGBTQ community members. In Oregon, a coalition of Republicans asked U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate the state’s trans-inclusive Medicaid.
There have also been threats in Eugene, including in 2022 when armed Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, protested and tried to enter a local Eugene pub hosting a “Drag Queen Story Hour” event. This followed the 2021 beating of a gay man in Eugene after being targeted on the dating app Grindr.
Responding to the new reality
Henry said the community is responding in various ways to federal actions. Some have coalesced behind activism, like the newly formed Trans Alliance Lane County, while others have focused on cultivating community spaces for relaxation and joy.
The Lavender Network provides tools, including “Know Your Rights” training, to respond to emerging threats like deportation.
“Building community is going to be the biggest thing that provides safety,” Henry said.
The community is expected to grow as LGBTQ people relocate to Oregon.
According to a 2023 report from the Williams Institute, a research center at UCLA, Oregon has the highest percentage of LGBTQ people. Meek, who describes themselves as a “Florida escapee,” said many of those who come to the crafting circle are newcomers from less-welcoming states.
At the end of March, the network held an event for Trans Day of Visibility that drew hundreds of residents and included several live performances.
“In the midst of all the chaos, it’s just really a beautiful thing to see, not only the community existing and resisting,” said Renshaw, “but thriving and flourishing together.”
