The same week the Stockton City Council raised the Pride flag and proclaimed June as Pride Month, two nonprofits supporting the local LGBTQ+ community said their offices were targeted for vandalism.
The first incident happened June 4 at Central Valley Gender Health and Wellness, 907 N. El Dorado St., where a rock was thrown through a window displaying a transgender flag.
Cymone Reyes, executive director of Central Valley Gender Health and Wellness, said staff noticed glass on the floor around 8:30 a.m. One of the staff members texted her to ask if she was aware of the broken window. She then reported the incident to the Stockton Police Department.
While on the phone with the 911 dispatcher, Reyes said she mentioned that the transgender flag hangs in the window. The dispatcher told her officers would be sent to take a report because it could potentially be a hate crime.
Officer David Scott, a spokesperson for the Stockton Police Department, said no arrests have been made in connection with the incident. The case was forwarded to detectives for follow-up, and they will review the evidence to develop a motive and identify suspects.
Reyes, a lifelong resident of Stockton and San Joaquin County, said she has been open about her identity as a transgender Latina since 1992.
“Up until this point, I’ve never encountered any real issues, situations or moments where I felt I was being targeted for who I was,” Reyes said. “For me, this is new, even at my age. I used to tell people that Stockton is one of those places where, ‘You don’t start no mess, there won’t be no mess.’ The fact that we organized the flag raising on Monday, we were at City Hall and council on Tuesday, and then we wake up Wednesday to a broken window … it’s not coincidental to me.”
Reyes said she and her staff have always practiced vigilance because of the population they serve, but now they’re more on edge. However, they said they won’t let the incident deter them from doing their work.
“It’s not going to stop us from doing what we do for the community,” Reyes said. “If nothing else, it really ignites the fire and pushes us to be even more open, visible and louder.”
Central Valley Gender Health and Wellness, founded in 2023, focuses on substance use disorder prevention, early intervention and education.
“We distribute on average about 700 doses of Narcan a quarter, and that is specifically to the unhoused, queer and undocumented populations within the county,” Reyes said. “We also provide counseling services, peer support services and have community health workers who go out into the community and help address those needs.”
“As an organization, we don’t judge anyone for what they’re involved in, but we like to meet them where they’re at and provide whatever services they need,” Reyes added.
The community has helped raise $2,000 for repair costs so the nonprofit can continue its work.
“It’s really heartwarming,” Reyes said. “The fact that anyone is able to make a donation — we’ve received some in the amount of $20 and some over $150 — reinforces the work that we’re doing. It reinforces the reach and the impact we have on the community. It’s meaningful because they’re willing to help us, even in the current financial situations we all find ourselves in.”
Reyes said that in spite of what may be transpiring locally and nationally, she wants the community to know that no one is alone.
“We are here for each other,” Reyes said. “We should stand together, and for those who aren’t able to be open and visible, we are here to stand for you. Don’t be deterred and don’t be discouraged by anything that may be going on.”
It was a sentiment echoed by John Alita, executive director of the San Joaquin Pride Center. Alita said a Pride flag displayed outside the center was torn down by a man who appeared to be holding a brick on June 6. The same man tore down a Pride flag outside a couple’s home near the center in Yosemite Street Village the day before.
Alita said the man was caught on the couple’s Ring camera. He walked away after pulling down the flag, and the couple filed a police report. When the same man went to the San Joaquin Pride Center the next day, a neighboring business owner called Alita to warn him.
San Joaquin Pride Center officials called police, and officers quickly found the man. Alita said he was stopped for questioning and told police that years ago someone called him bisexual, but he is asexual and it made him angry.
“He didn’t do enough in the incident at our building for him to be arrested, but the police came back and talked to us and said if he comes back, we have the right to trespass him if he goes into the building, and we can call police and have him removed,” Alita said. “Our neighbors who had the incident, because he went onto their property, have the option of getting a restraining order if they choose.”
Alita said he believes the current climate in the country is anti-LGBTQ+, and people who are anti-LGBTQ+ are emboldened by the actions of those in positions of power.
“It’s not a surprise to me that the defense secretary decided to remove the name of Harvey Milk from a naval ship the other day,” Alita said. “This is a coordinated, very public attack on LGBT people and others who are not deemed part of who should be considered American these days.”
However, Alita said the community in Stockton is tight-knit and looks out for each other.
“We’re not afraid,” Alita said. “We’ve all, to some extent, experienced discrimination, some form or other, because of who we are.”
Aside from being a resource center that supports inclusion for LGBTQ+ people and their allies, Alita said the San Joaquin Pride Center provides mental health services to youth and offers help to schools.
“We are doing a lot of work to try to reduce stigma and prejudice in San Joaquin County,” Alita said. “While there is a lot of support here, stigma and discrimination in San Joaquin County are alive and well, and it needs to be better. We need to be better at treating all people equally, with dignity — not just the community I focus on, but everybody.”
In a statement released June 7, Stockton Police Department officials condemned all acts of hate, including those targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
“These crimes are unacceptable and will be investigated with the utmost seriousness,” police department officials said. “We are committed to protecting every member of our community, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Hate has no place in our city. We will continue to strive for a more inclusive and secure future for all.”
Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: ‘We’re not afraid’: Stockton LGBTQ+ leaders speak out after hate incidents at resource centers
Reporting by Hannah Workman, The Stockton Record / The Record
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