August 29, 1997 GAY PEOPLe's Chronicle 17

COMMUNITY GROUPS

Beleagured Dayton hotline to get dial-up info system

Dayton-The Dayton Lesbian and Gay Center has launched a campaign to undertake a major upgrade of the Dayton Lesbian-Gay Hotline with state-of-the-art equipment.

The Center's board says the new system will help solve a phone harassment problem that has plagued the hotline since last spring.

Under the new upgrade, callers would be able to choose from a large selection of pre-recorded information and subjects, providing needed information about the gay and lesbian community of the Dayton

area.

The Center provides the only Daytonarea 24-hour gay and lesbian telephone information line, and has been operating the service since 1978. The hotline can be reached at 937-274-1776.

Until the harassment reached a crescendo in early summer, volunteers staffed the hotline from 7 to 11 pm each evening. A taped message gave some information when a volunteer was not staffing the hotline.

Over the years the hotline has assisted thousands of people with information about local organizations, bars, clubs, social and sports activities, the annual Pride celebration, referrals to AIDS service organizations, doctors, lawyers, counselors, other community resources and general advice on coming out issues.

The Center's board, working closely with the hotline's volunteer coordinator, has decided to to upgrade the hotline to provide more information and lessen the need for volunteers on the line.

"We will not have harassment of our volunteers," the board said in a release. In addition, the hotline has been overwhelmed at times by people responding to false pager messages sent by the harass-

ers.

Volunteers will still be used, but new technology has made it made it possible to provide more information on a wider range of subjects while still keeping the service available.

The significant number of harassment calls has lessened the effectiveness of the

hotline. The upgrade hopefully will bring some relief.

To assist in the upgrade effort, donations may be made to DLGC and sent to P.O. Box 1203, Dayton, Ohio 45401-1203. Donations are tax deductible. A goal of $3,000 has been set to upgrade the system.

The Dayton Lesbian and Gay Center, founded in 1976, is a non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS tax code. It is an all-volunteer organization with a nine-member all-volunteer board of directors.

Programs include the hotline, Women's Hour on Mondays at 6:30 pm; Men's Hour

on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.; and a Coffee House on Fridays from 8 to 10 p.m. with cards, games, videos and refreshments. There is no charge to attend Center activities.

The Center is located at 819 Salem Avenue in Dayton. The office phone number is 937-274-4297 and the mailing address is P.O. Box 1203, Dayton 454011203.

The Center is the official sponsor of the Annual Pride Celebration, the Howard Getz Leadership Workshop, Salon de DLGC, and Freedom Fest.

HIV/AIDS SUPPORT GROUPS

3 individual groups for Portage Co. area residents

• people living with HIV/AIDS

·

family & friends

anyone who has lost someone

for confidential information call

330 678-4357 330 296-2255

sponsored by Townhall II & the Portage Co. AIDS Task Force

Your Full Service Agency

Staffed With a Certified Lesbian/Gay Travel Specialist

Customized Independent Travel World Wide

For More Information Contact:

Carol Beck

(216) 228-6990

Monday Friday 9am 5:30pm and Saturday 9am 12noon

14601 Detroit Avenue

Lakewood, Ohio 44107

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