{{Short description|Detroit area social services agency}} {{Infobox organization | name = Ruth Ellis Center | image = Ruth Ellis Center logo | caption = Ruth Ellis Center logo | founder = | purpose = | tax_id = | registration_id = | founded = 1999 | location = Detroit, Michigan | coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LON|display=inline,title}} --> | origins = | key_people = Mark Erwin, executive director<ref name="crains613">{{cite news | url=http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20130618/NEWS/130619831/ruth-ellis-center-names-new-executive-director | title=Ruth Ellis Center names new executive director | work=Crain's Detroit Business | date=June 18, 2013 | access-date=August 1, 2013 | author=Welch, Sherri}}</ref><ref name="btl613">{{cite news | url=http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=61011 | title=Fresh From California: Ruth Ellis Welcomes New Executive Director | work=Between the Lines | date=June 27, 2013 | access-date=August 1, 2013 | author=Proxmire, Crystal}}</ref> | region_served = Southeast Michigan | products = | services = Drop-in center, street outreach program, transitional living, and emergency housing shelter | focus = Runaway, homeless and at-risk LGBTQ youth | method = | revenue = | endowment = | num_volunteers = | num_employees = | num_members = | subsid = | owner = | former_name = | website = {{URL|www.ruthelliscenter.org}} | dissolved = | footnotes = }} [[File:Wanda Sykes 2010 GLAAD Media Awards.jpg|thumb|alt=Wanda Sykes|Wanda Sykes, a public supporter of Ruth Ellis Center since 2010, at the 2010 GLAAD Media Awards.]] The '''Ruth Ellis Center''' (REC) is a social services agency in the Detroit area that serves the needs of runaway, homeless and at-risk lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) youth. REC is named in honor of the life and work of Ruth Ellis, who was an African-American lesbian from Detroit known for her service to people in need.
==Programs== The Ruth Ellis Center operates five main programs: Youth Programs (Health, Equity, and Outreach, formally Drop-In; and Center for Lesbian Queer Women & Girls or CLQ), Supportive Housing, Integrated Health Services, Community-Based Family Support Services, and the Ruth Ellis Institute.
==History== A group of community activists including John Allen, Kofi Adoma,<ref>{{cite news |author=Michael |first=Jason A. |date=May 2, 2017 |title=Kofi Adoma: Creating history one organization at a time |url=https://pridesource.com/article/kofi-adoma-creating-history-one-organization-at-a-time |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304050844/http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=11797 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=October 15, 2024 |work=Between the Lines}}</ref> and Courtney Wilson - founded the Ruth Ellis Center in 1999,<ref name="advocate1012">{{cite news |author=Broverman, Neal |date=October 4, 2012 |title=Detroit's Invaluable LGBT Youth Center Has a Friend in Wanda |url=http://www.advocate.com/youth/2012/10/04/invaluable-lgbt-youth-center-detroit-has-friend-wanda |access-date=August 1, 2013 |work=The Advocate}}</ref> the same year Ruth Ellis celebrated her 100th birthday. In September 2000, the then-101-year-old Ellis attended the grand opening of the center's first phase, a drop-in center for at-risk youth.<ref name="btl205">{{cite news |author=Michael |first=Jason |date=February 3, 2005 |title=Ruth Ellis: A century worth of history |url=http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=11497 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210181835/http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=11497 |archive-date=December 10, 2014 |access-date= |work=Between the Lines |issue=1305}}</ref>
Wanda Sykes has been an outspoken supporter of the organization after the staff sent her a letter asking her to visit during her 2010 tour's stop in Detroit.<ref name="btl710">{{cite news |date=July 8, 2010 |title=Wanda Sykes visits Ruth Ellis Center |url=https://pridesource.com/article/wanda-sykes-visits-ruth-ellis-center |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025020937/http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=42165 |archive-date=October 25, 2013 |access-date=October 15, 2024 |work=Between the Lines}}</ref><ref name="hour912">{{cite journal |author=Mercer |first=Monica |date=August 28, 2012 |title=Q&A: Wanda Sykes, Ruth Ellis Center Fundraiser Host |url=https://www.hourdetroit.com/community/qa-wanda-sykes-ruth-ellis-center-fundraiser-host/ |journal=Hour Detroit}}</ref><ref name="advocate1012" />
In January 2022, it opened the {{convert|44000|sqft|sqm|adj=on}} Ruth Ellis Clairmount Center, a center for LGBT people aged 13 to 30, including housing and educational facilities. It cost approximately $15 million.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rahman|first=Nushrat|url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2020/11/21/lgbtq-youth-housing-health-clinic-breaks-ground/6354945002/|title=Ruth Ellis Center breaks ground on housing development and health clinic for LGBTQ youth|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=2020-11-21|access-date=2020-11-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ruth Ellis Clairmount Center |url=https://www.lbba.com/projects/13/ruth-ellis-clairmount-center |access-date=October 15, 2024 |website=LBBA |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|LGBTQ|Michigan}} *LGBTQ rights in Michigan *Homelessness among LGBT youth in the United States
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{LGBT in Michigan}}
Category:Organizations established in 1999 Category:Organizations based in Detroit Category:1999 establishments in Michigan Category:LGBTQ youth organizations based in the United States Category:Homeless shelters in the United States Category:LGBTQ culture in Detroit Category:LGBTQ and homelessness