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A decade of doing

Jason A. Michael

Laura Hughes, the new executive director of the Ruth Ellis Center, attended Detroits AIDS Walk Michigan on Oct. 11. BTL photo by Jason A. Michael

It's an exciting month for the Ruth Ellis Center. The center is simultaneously celebrating 10 years and welcoming a new executive director. That director, Laura Hughes, recently sat down with Between The Lines to talk about her new post and what she hopes to bring to the center.
"I think that the Ruth Ellis Center has done a spectacular job of creating a safe space and really advocating for LGBT youth, especially those who are runaway and homeless," Hughes said.
"In this next decade, I think we need to focus on making sure that we can continue to meet the basic fundamental needs (of our youth) and we also need to work with the youth to make sure that we can prepare them for what comes next … really preparing our community to be able to fulfill their dreams."
Hughes first became familiar with the center while working as the HIV/STD manager for the Wayne County Department of Public Health.
"Wayne County had a collaborative partnership with REC doing chlamydia and gonorrhea testing," she explained. "Most of the times that I sat down with the youth they didn't have questions about chlamydia or gonorrhea, but they were about HIV and AIDS, and then it would it move onto 'do you know any jobs' and questions about their other basic needs. So I became familiar with the work of the Ruth Ellis Center and I think it really embodies what I believe, so that's why it's kind of a natural fit for me."
Finding that perfect fit in an executive director has been a challenge for the center, and it's spent the last year under the direction of an interim ED, Kevin Holley, following the unexpected departure of the center's first director, Grace McClelland, last fall.
"The youth are really curious to know who I am," said Hughes. "I think that as the organization has gone through a year of transition, they, too, have gone through a year of transition. So they really wanted to know who I was and where I was coming from."
Indeed, Hughes is seeking input from all directions as she takes on her new role.
"One of the things I've really been trying to do is make sure that I spend time with our board, time with a lot of community stake holders and time with our youth to get their input as to where they think the center needs to go," she said. "So I'm still crafting the vision of where the center needs to go based on community and youth feedback."

Marking a milestone

Hughes said she looks forward to meeting more of those stake holders and supporters this month as the center hosts two events to celebrate that it's been 10 years since the center incorporated. A group of concerned community activists met for the first time in June of 1999 to address homelessness among LGBT youth in metro Detroit.
In September 2000, Ruth Ellis herself cut the ribbon at the grand opening of a drop-in center designed as a safe space for LGBT youth. And in 2004, the center opened Ruth's House, a homeless shelter and transitional living center.
On Saturday, Oct. 17, the center will host a celebration of Ruth and its youth at the center's headquarters in Highland Park. The event will feature performances from the youth, as well as the unveiling of a mural that the youth designed. There will also be an opportunity for attendees to record on videotape their memories of Ruth and the center, which will then be showcased on the center's Web site. The cost for this event is $25.
Then, on Oct. 22, the center will host a wine reception at the Scarab Club in Detroit. The cost for this more formal event is $140, the proceeds of which will go to help the center.
Fundraising, Hughes said, is among her top priorities.
"I think our greatest challenge is the economy," she said. "Much of the programming that we offer at the drop-in center, we're going to need additional funders to operate that. So that is an immediate challenge that we're working on. But I think many of our kind of economic challenges are no different than those of any other non-profit right now. Still, that is one of the foremost challenges that we face."
If anyone can rise to the challenge, Hughes seems to be well equipped to do so.
"She's just a super woman," said Barb Murray, executive director of AIDS Partnership Michigan. "She's a very bright, caring person. She's a good soul and she cares deeply for people. I'd die on any hill with her. I think very, very highly of her."

10th Anniversary Celebrations
Oct. 17
Ruth Ellis Center, 77 Victor, Highland Park
Oct. 22
Scarab Club, 217 Farnsworth, Detroit
http://www.ruthelliscenter.com

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