Lambert House LGBTQ Youth Center

Lambert House is a center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth, ages 11-22, that empowers youth through the development of leadership, social and life skills.

Lambert House was founded in 1981 by Pediatrician and UW Medicine Clinic Director Dr. Bob Discher as the Association of Gay and Lesbian Youth Advocates (AGLYA), and was the first social service agency solely dedicated to LGBTQ youth to incorportate and receive 501(c)(3) status in the country. In 1991 AGLYA seized an opportunity to lease an old Victorian house in Capitol Hill, Seattle's most visibly LGBTQ neighborhood. The organization was renamed in memory of Grey Lambert, a young man who worked to open our community center and who died of AIDS-related causes just as the house opened. Since then, Lambert House has expanded its programs and today holds an international reputation as an innovative, leading organization in the Northwest for queer youth.

In 2016, Lambert House was thrust into an unexpected capital campaign as it's long-time landlords were set to sell the property to a developer. Thanks to a long-time supporter, Lambert House was able to secure the property with a 0% interest private loan. Lambert House now seeks to raise $5.6M to pay back the loan, fund much-needed deferred maintenance and renovations, and create both new programming and office spaces to accommodate our rapid growth. Lambert House is one of only 5 standalone LGBTQ youth centers in the country to own it's facility.

Lambert House is the largest community of LGBTQ youth in the Northwest. We offer over 30 ongoing social, recreational, health, and cultural programs and services throughout the year.

We are located on Capitol Hill in Seattle and served 1,113 different LGBTQ youth in 2018, a 50% increase over the year prior. LGBTQ youth come to Lambert House to make friends. Our center is open Monday through Friday, with some weekend programming, and provides a safe space for LGBTQ youth to find community.

At Lambert House life gets better because LGBTQ youth are in the majority and are the norm. Over seventy trained adults volunteer with youth every week and serve as informal mentors and role models. In those volunteers, youth can see possibilities for their own futures.

We serve LGBTQ youth from all economic backgrounds, living situations and educational experiences, including 10-15% currently homeless youth, and a higher percentage of youth of color than in the general population of our geographic reach. Our youth-driven programs & services include: Social and recreational activities; performance events and dances; piano and guitars; board games and pool table; 3,000-volume LGBT lending library; personal hygiene items; a small clothing bank; crisis intervention and resource referral; computer lab; weekly support groups "Tranz Youth," "No Man's Land," and "Boys Who Like Boys;" seminars on relationship skills; internships and leadership opportunities through youth-led programming; queer film nights all year; outdoor recreation monthly; weekly art group; and dinners weeknights.

Our organization qualifies for the Microsoft and Boeing Volunteer Match Programs, and many other donation and volunteer match programs. With a very large, highly trained volunteer pool in direct service to youth, Lambert House leverages dollars delivering a large impact to the community for comparatively little resource.