There was a time when the Bay Area was home to highly visible queer communities full of LGBTQ-friendly businesses. And while you do still have plenty of rainbow flags in the Castro, if you look past the obvious symbols, the character of these neighborhoods has changed dramatically with many of those businesses shutting down and many long-time residents pushed out by the high cost of living.

So on this edition of How to Bay Area we speak with the people at ground zero of this change to find out what they feel like they’re losing and what they are fighting to preserve.

Through the course of this episode we learn how this preservation work is being carried out, how community organizers are adapting their work to the internet age and also offer practical advice on how to find queer-friendly housing in the Bay Area. 

Hosts: 

KCBS Radio reporter Keith Menconi and KCBS Radio production assistant Mary Hughes 

Guests: 

• Terra Haywood, co-owner and business operations manager for The Stud
• Jolene Linsangan, owner of Jolene’s Bar
• Terry Beswick, executive director of the GLBT Historical Society
• Brian Basinger, executive director of the Q Foundation
• Juanita MORE!, creator of Juanita's List (and much more!)

Resources:

Here are some of the queer-friendly housing resources mentioned in this episode. 

• Juanita's List, a Facebook group connecting members of the LGBTQ community to queer-friendly housing in the Bay Area
• Gay Area Queer Housing S.F. Bay Area, another Facebook group carrying out similar work
• Q Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit providing support and advocacy for those facing homelessness with a special focus on members of the LGBTQ community and those living with HIV/AIDS; among its services, the group provides assistance to those seeking public housing support in San Francisco. 
• Dahlia, San Francisco's public housing portal
• The Bill Wilson Center, a Santa Clara-based service organization for at-risk or homeless youth and families. Their LGBTQ-specific housing programs include BWC Connections, LGBTQ Host Homes and their LGBTQ Transitional Living Program. 
• LifeMoves, a housing and service organization operating on the Peninsula and within Silicon Valley; the group just opened a new homeless shelter for LGBTQ adults in downtown San Jose.

Special thanks to Housing Trust Silicon Valley for helping to connect us with some of the organization's mentioned in this episode.