How this center is working to make Arlington a welcome place for LGBT folks
DeeJay Johannessen encountered some skepticism when he opened the HELP Center for LGBT Health and Wellness in 2018 in downtown Arlington.
The group has been around North Texas since 1994, first offering education on HIV prevention and women’s health issues. HELP Center is now among the largest Texas programs providing pre-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure prophylaxis, two treatments used to prevent HIV. Treatment and services at the center are free for all patients, regardless of patients’ insurance. The organization also offers free condoms and condom-of-the-month programs.
Expanding to Arlington was a natural evolution, Johannessen said, because a third of their patients traveled to Fort Worth from east of Interstate 820 for appointments. Nevertheless, some questioned his and the building’s owner about the need for a center at 200 E. Division St. in downtown Arlington.
“When people found out who was going to be renting it, they were like, ‘Oh my gosh, they’re a gay organization giving away free condoms. That’s not what we want for downtown Arlington, what are we going to do?’” Johannessen recalled. “But we got past that.”
Despite the initial hesitancy, city agencies have worked with the HELP Center to create equitable municipal policies and conduct sensitivity training. After experiencing an uptick in demand during the pandemic, the center is looking for ways to expand resources for the community and remove barriers keeping people from care. Johannessen said HELP Center will launch mental health and gender care services later in the year, focusing first on people receiving medical care, as well as those coming out or beginning to transition.
Above all, Johannessen said, the center is focused on removing stigma and making Arlington a place where LGBT folks feel welcomed and accepted.
“The LGBT community in Arlington has the same challenge that the city has in that we’re losing our youth,” Johannessen said. “People come here, they may go to the university, and as soon as they graduate, they want to get out and go somewhere else because this isn’t the place they want to stay.”
Expanding to meet community needs
The HELP Center has experienced nearly 30 years of growth, as its staff expanded to meet the community’s needs. It began offering HIV test services in 2013. Johannessen said they realized the need for pre-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure prophylaxis services after directing someone elsewhere for medical treatment. The same patient returned half a year later HIV-positive. Despite taking preventative measures, Johannessen said, the patient could not make it to appointments out of town.
“So I said, ‘OK, we have to bring more PrEP into Tarrant County,” Johannessen said.
He consulted with people in Dallas County, who provided services through people’s insurance. However, HELP Center staff did not want insufficient insurance — or lack of it altogether — to keep people from receiving treatment. The group fashioned its business model off Kind Clinic, an Austin-based provider offering free- or low-cost treatments.
HELP Center started offering services out of Fort Worth two days a week in 2017, and employees expected around 10 new patients per month. The clinic grew quicker than that, and the Arlington location became similarly busy not long after opening.
Johannessen imagined holding events with UT Arlington students or hosting meetings in the center’s open space. However, the demand for medical services, paired with patient privacy concerns, has caused center leadership to shelve the plans.
“It became really apparent really quickly that we were so busy, there was a capacity issue there,” Johannessen said.
The center saw its number of patients double during the pandemic, as employees launched virtual consultation services. HELP Center reopened with precautions in place after staff noticed people who showed up to online appointments did not necessarily go to lab appointments.
‘It’s about reducing the stigma’
Johannessen said the HELP Center aims to be visible and active with Arlington and Tarrant County’s LGBT community. The center has a sign along Interstate 30 celebrating pride month, and will have a float in Arlington’s Independence Day Parade July 5, a first for the group.
Arlington is a great place to live, Johannessen said, and he wants other members of the community to see they are accepted.
“We want to start building the infrastructure and environment that is inviting for the community,” he said.
HELP Center collaborates with local governments, schools and nonprofits looking to remove systemic barriers facing LGBT individuals, as well as tailor their assistance to the agency’s needs.
“We go to them and say, ‘You tell me what your goals are,’” Johannessen said.
City officials have worked with the HELP Center, too, in improving the culture and environment in city hall and throughout the city. Arlington city government has for years worked on its score with the Human Rights Commission’s Municipal Equality Index. City Council unanimously approved an ordinance at a June 15 meeting that prohibits discrimination against members of protected classes, plus sexual orientation and gender identity, from discrimination, and added sexual orientation and gender identity to its fair housing ordinance.
“I think what he’s doing here is making a huge difference in people’s lives and we’re just lucky that he and his organization are investing in Arlington the way they are,” said Jay Warren, who directs the city’s communication and legislative affairs department and serves as LGBT liaison to the city.
The center hosts trainings for cadets in the city’s police academy as an agency requirement.
All of their services, community involvement and visibility efforts, Johannessen said, are focused on making Arlington and all of North Texas a place where people wish to stay.
“It’s about reducing stigma and making sure that the LGBT community has a home here in Arlington,” he said.
Those interested in HELP Center services can schedule an appointment in Arlington or Fort Worth at helcentertx.org or by calling 817-332-7722.
