It’s hard to believe that it was a decade ago that 15-year-old Sakia Gunn was murdered in downtown Newark, New Jersey when she told two men who were propsotioning her that she was gay.

According to Newark Public Radio, her death prompted local LGBTQ activists to come together to advocate for the creation of a much-needed safe space for the city’s youth. Ten years later, Newark’s first LGBTQ community center has finally opened its doors. The center will supersede Liberation In Truth Social Justice Center (LITSJC), a community-based organization that was founded in 2004 as an outgrowth of the social justice work of Liberation in Truth Unity Fellowship Church.

“People don’t know how serious it can be. If a young person comes out and their family is against them, they’re put out, they end up homeless, they end up on the street with no place to go,” says Reverend Janyce Jackson, the center’s director. “That’s why we’re here.”

The new center is the product of a collaboration between existing groups serving Newark’s LGBTQ community, including LITSJC, the city and county LGBTQ commissions, Unity Fellowship Church of Newark, Newark Pride Alliance, the African American Office of Gay Concerns, Garden State Equality, and North Jersey Community Research Initiative.

The Newark LGBTQ Community Center is located at 11 Halsey Street in downtown Newark. Check them out on Facebook or at litsjc.org.