A South Bay LGBTQ+ Nonprofit Leader Reflects on the Importance of Inclusivity During PRIDE Month

Published On: June 15th, 2023By Categories: Partnerships3.7 min read

Sebastian Martinez puts his whole heart into his work with the LGBTQ+ community. In his role as executive director of Community Through Hope (CTH) in the South Bay, a Feeding San Diego partner agency, he has met many people in his daily work whose cases move him in personal ways. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community himself, he uniquely understands the scenarios that cause people to become unhoused.

A man wearing a black shirt standing in front of a rainbow backdrop

Sebastian Martinez, executive director of Community Through Hope

“There are so many reasons people become unsheltered: economic factors, decision making, social factors. But there are certain things where, if you are this thing, the chances of you becoming unsheltered are totally lifted up. A few of those things, I feel, fall into categories of things you cannot change even if you wanted to,” he shares. “That’s what I find difficult about seeing LGBTQ+ folks unsheltered. [Their identity] is often directly the reason they’re unsheltered. It’s not these other factors coming together. It’s this one specific factor.”

Data supports Sebastian’s beliefs. According to Feeding America, 22% of LGBTQ+ adults live in poverty and food insecurity. This fact makes the community twice as likely as others to face hunger.

A Bright Spot in the South Bay

Community through Hope is a non-profit organization in the South Bay that started as a grassroots organization. It works with the unsheltered community to help them regain self-sufficiency while centering hope, dignity, and equity. The small organization’s staff strives to expand who receives services while ensuring everything is trauma-informed, high-impact, and accessible.

“CTH is really the only of its kind, I would argue, in San Diego County, but definitely in the South Bay. A 100% zero barrier drop-in center where you can come in and be unsheltered and get access to nutrition, hygiene, medical care, showers, case management, housing placement, all in one location,” Sebastian tells us.

A group of people wearing cowboy hats pose in front of a rainbow backdrop

Sebastian with the CTH team

According to the most recent Point-in-Time Count numbers from the San Diego Regional Task Force on Homelessness, the south region’s unsheltered population increased by 27% between 2022 and 2023. Under Sebastian’s leadership, CTH provides vital services to unsheltered individuals in the South Bay. He calls out the importance of providing nutritious, fresh food as part of his organization’s programming, made possible by the partnership with Feeding San Diego.

“Food is absolutely a love language, right? When people are fed, they feel loved. When people feel like they are fed with intention, they really feel loved. The ability to feel like you’re eating food that is quality, that is picked out for you. We won’t even start work with a client if they haven’t eaten. We can’t do any real work until we address that need. Addressing hunger has been the bedrock of all the work we’ve done since inception,” he explains.

One with the LGBTQ+ Community

Sebastian’s own lived experience is integral to his work. He is thankful that his own experience as a member of the LGBTQ+ community was an extremely positive one, thanks in big part to his mother.

“I was raised in a family that was extremely accepting, full of love. Being persecuted in my own home was never my lived experience. I never really had to come out. It was very normalized. I was able to live that experience much earlier than my peers just because of how, just, ahead of her time and modern my mom was. It was never an issue. However, it was an issue when I left that bubble,” he says. “When I see those cases [of LGBTQ+ youth who have lost housing because of their sexual orientation], I’ve had to do a lot of education with myself, even being from that community, to understand the nuances.”

That education has been rewarding for him, allowing him to connect on a deeper level with those CTH serves.

“It definitely affects the way that I do the work. I try to be a space for my clients to show them alternatives to things, show them compassion, and hopefully create a space for healing. I might not ever be able to change their parents’ minds, but just kind of doing that internal work while navigating them being unsheltered. Reminding them that CTH is a space safe and we can create love for ourselves.”

Find Resources at Community Through Hope

The CTH team distributes food Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at their C Street location. Attendees should call 619.947.6002 to make an appointment first.