This Metroplex city joins Dallas, Fort Worth in perfect rating for LGBT friendliness
After years of collaboration with a prominent North Texas LGBT resource group, Arlington has achieved a perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index, joining the ranks of neighboring Fort Worth and Dallas.
The city’s score jumped to 100 from 63 last year, after the City Council unanimously passed an anti-discrimination ordinance shielding members of protected classes, plus sexual orientation and gender identity, from discrimination in housing, employment and access to public services. The City Council also unanimously approved updates to the fair housing ordinance to include gender identity and sexual orientation. Businesses including Amazon have used the score when considering whether to move into cities, according to the company and a previous interview with Arlington communication staff.
“Their questions were more about, ‘What is the environment our employees are going to be living in?’” said Jay Warren, Arlington’s communication and legislative affairs director, in June.
DeeJay Johannessen, CEO of HELP Center for LGBT Health and Wellness, congratulated officials and the city government for the improvement Tuesday morning.
“Arlington’s perfect score is a reflection now of who we are now as a city — open, supportive, and dedicated to Arlington’s diverse community,” Johannessen said in a statement.
The new ordinance and updated housing policy marked the “last major accomplishment” on the road to a perfect score, according to the HELP Center statement. Barbara Odom-Wesley, District 8 council member, spearheaded the ordinance’s passage through the Unity Council, a city task force that proposed nearly 60 recommendations to create more equitable city policies.
Warren said in a phone interview Tuesday the city will continue to work with the Unity Council and HRC on keeping in line with equitable practices and making adjustments as legislation changes. He credited the City Council and Unity Council for their work around LGBT equity.
“That was a really big deal for our community, for our residents, and certainly helped us achieve this perfect score,” he said.
Johannessen has worked with the city through the HELP Center since 2013, when the HRC gave Arlington a score of 11. The city in 2021 outscores Grand Prairie’s 36 points, Plano’s 64 and Irving’s 47.
HELP Center’s presence in Arlington has grown alongside the city’s equity goals. The clinic expanded into downtown in 2018 and is the only LGBT center in town. The center recently expanded services into 602 E. South St and includes a 2,500 square-foot community space for meetings and gatherings, as well as health services and counseling. The center will host a formal dedication at 3 p.m. Dec. 1. The center received a $383,750 grant from the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation, the city’s quasi-governmental trust.
