NYACK, NY — The Rockland Pride Center is suspending all support groups, events, and drop-in hours. The decision is effective immediately, center officials said in an announcement.

Rockland County has six confirmed cases of the new coronavirus as of Tuesday at noon. Three of the cases are students from the East Ramapo Central School District who attended Hempstead Elementary, Pomona Middle School and Ramapo High School. Two are members of the staff that catered a bar mitzvah in New Rochelle — back to which most of New York state's confirmed cases have been traced. "Given the ongoing health crisis of COVID-19/Coronavirus, the Rockland County Pride Center has to make a hard decision," said Executive Director Brooke Malloy. "We are balancing the needs of our community (social and emotional support, connection, and resources like food) with the realities of preventing the transmission of COVID-19/Coronavirus that is a threat to our elders, people with chronic conditions, and people with compromised immune systems."

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The center will use digital forms of communication to stay connected and will reach out to the most isolated and vulnerable members of the community, she said.



How you can reach the Pride Center:

Call us at 845-353-6300 and leave a message with the live answering service, and we will call you back as quickly as possible.

and leave a message with the live answering service, and we will call you back as quickly as possible. Email us at pride@rocklandpridecenter.org , and your message will be forwarded to the right person.

, and your message will be forwarded to the right person. Message us on Facebook or Instagram, which we will be checking regularly. The Pride Center is here to ensure that the people in the community have access to food and other necessities, social connection, mental health support, and safety planning. Pride Center staff and volunteers are mobilizing to fill the gaps as other organizations suspend services, as people are quarantined, and as in-person services are reduced. If you would like to help meet this new demand, email them about volunteering.

Click to learn more about what LGBTQ+ People Need to Know about Coronavirus from the National LGBT Cancer Network.

