OUTMemphis to Expand Services with New Regional Headquarters

OUTMemphis looks to expand services across the Mid-South with a new community center, increased capacity and services at their Youth Empowerment Center, and more resources for advocacy across the region.

The oldest and largest LGBTQ+ service in the Mid-South launched a $12 million campaign for the projects  after tripling in size over the past five years.  Officials said key programs are near capacity and they are unable to meet all requests.

Molly Quinn, CEO of OUTMemphis, said they’ve spent years in basements, bungalows, and borrowed spaces in hopes of servicing the community. However, she said, the need has outgrown the organization’s current capacity.

To address the growth, OUTMemphis announced the launch of its “state-of-the-art” regional headquarters on Cleveland Street, between Poplar Avenue and Crosstown Concourse.  OUTMemphis called the placement “strategic,” as it anchors their work “where its earliest efforts” began in 1989.

“This new home will allow us to expand services, increase safety, and ensure LGBTQ+ people across the Mid-South always have a place where they belong,” Quinn said.

The advocacy group said the expansion will allow them to bring all services into “two high-efficiency hubs.” Those services include community gatherings, counseling and case management, HIV care and prevention, support groups, and housing and financial navigation.

“By streamlining the operations, the organization is creating immediate capacity to meet a 300 percent increase in service requests over the last five years in the face of escalating obstacles to resources and legal rights,” OUTMemphis said in a statement.

The 11,000-square-foot headquarters will provide access to housing support, health services, advocacy, and community programs for LGBTQ+ people. OUTMemphis will also be able to improve its leadership programs, which help in fighting against HIV and against anti-LGBTQ+ policies.

“For many in Memphis, the project represents more than a building — it represents visibility, safety and opportunity for communities that often face isolation in the South,” the OUTMemphis statement said.

TaMesha Prewitt, a program manager at OUTMemphis, said the center will allow the LGBTQ+ community to have increased visibility and solidarity. 

LacretIa Carroll, an OUTMemphis board member, echoed these sentiments and said this expansion will allow the organization to service people across the region with the proper stability and support. “In a time where our very existence is being challenged, the South needs leaders — and OUTMemphis is ready to build a permanent regional home for the community,” Carroll said.

The $12 million campaign includes $7 million for the community center at Peach and Cleveland, $4 million to expand capacity of the Youth empowerment Center, and $1 million for regional LGBTQ+ advocacy.