The Queerest Places

Burlington, Vt.

RU12? Community Center
34 Elmwood Avenue

The LGBT community center which would perhaps win the “most unique name” contest celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, founded in 1999 by University of Vermont students who “believed that Vermont needed a multi-generational, substance-free queer space open to people of all ages, races and genders,” to quote its mission statement. The first location for RU12 was “on the waterfront,” but the center moved to this charming building downtown in 2003 (see photo above by Travis Dubreuil, who travels the country photographing queer community centers; visit him at www.thecentersproject.org). Over the years, RU12  merged with the Anti-Violence Project and Equality Vermont, making it a powerful agent for change in the Green Mountain State.

You’ll find an array of programs at the center, such as social and support groups, lesbian health care, a cyber center, a lending library, the Vermont Queer Archives, Vermont TransAction, and the LGBTQ Elder Project. They also sponsor an annual queer community dinner; the Run Against Rape; and the Transgender Day of Remembrance.  Don’t miss it if you travel to scenic little Vermont: it’s the only queer center in the state!