Every Saturday is the same for University of Chicago student Dani White. She rolls out of bed, packs up homework and walks to Affinity Community Services. She doesn't eat or worry that Affinity won't be open. Breakfast will be waiting and so will friends. Affinity is White's home away from home, the only place near her campus where she feels affirmed as a queer person of color.
And for nearly a decade, Affinity's home has been The First Unitarian Church, 5650 S. Woodlawn. But come July, Affinity will pack its bags. The organization's two-year lease is up, and First Unitarian will give the space to The Hyde Park School of Dance, another longtime tenant. The decision has not only sent Affinity on a harried search for an affordable space before August, it has set off an organization-wide discussion about its identity, purpose and goals.
First Unitarian informed Affinity of the non-renewal May 27, a few days before the required 60-day notification. The church did not give Affinity an opportunity to outbid the dance school, but offered to show Affinity an alternative basement space, price unknown. Affinity turned the church down last week, citing a need for more stability and visibility in the community.
"Symbolically, it is kind of time to move out of the basement," said Affinity Executive Director Kim Hunt. Affinity's current facility is not wheelchair-accessible, and the organization has grown beyond its capacity. Hunt said that Affinity's search for a home, coupled with an expected rent increase, has halted the organization's main programs through August.
Affinity had been paying just $550 per month for office and storage space, an agreement that included use of an expansive garden-level room for programs. In response to the non-renewal, Affinity's board voted almost immediately to increase its budget to $150,000, a 75-percent increase from last year. To complicate matters, Affinity is operating with help from a $150,000 grant from the Astrea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. The grant, dispensed over three years, will run out in 2011.
"We are definitely suffering from sticker shock," said Hunt. Affinity has looked at several spaces already, but has yet to find one that is both large enough and affordable. Furthermore, the choice of a new space will reflect key decisions about the direction of the rapidly expanding organization.
Affinity was founded 15 years ago to serve African-American lesbian and bisexual women. But as more young people come out and less of them identify as strictly male and female, Affinity has diversified significantly. Last June, Affinity hired its first youth programs coordinator, pouring thousands of dollars into programs designed to empower young people of all gender identities and races.
Its growth in constituents and programming has called for more money and questions about whether Affinity is a grassroots organization as it began, or a well-structured operation built to support smaller LGBTQ organizations. Hunt says that Affinity must review its role in the LGBTQ community and choose a facility and neighborhood accordingly. That means choosing a large space that is wheelchair accessible and in South Side neighborhood safe for LGBTQ people.
Few other registered LGBTQ organizations operate on the South Side, and Affinity has hosted countless LGBTQ groups in need of South Side spaces.
White stated there's a reason why Affinity has succeeded in Hyde Park for so long. "Hyde Park is a relatively neutral area for people," she said, adding that while some queer people fear homophobia on the South Side, many queer people of color face racism in North Side neighborhoods.
But for White, the issue goes deeper than politics. White credits Affinity with her survival at school. A university staffer directed White to Affinity her first week, when she complained that the campus lacked safe spaces for queer people of color. Dani found Affinity and practically never left, spending nearly half of every week there.
"It's more than just an office or a space to hold events," she said. "It's my home."
Dani won't be able to visit Affinity regularly if it leaves Hyde Park. The university does not provide CTA passes, and the fare costs will seriously curtail her travels.
Hunt is not sure where Affinity will go. But she is calling on the wide LGBTQ community to suggest spaces, help pack and donate money over the next two months.
In the meantime, Affinity Community Services, as it once was, sits in boxes below First Unitarian, waiting for a plan.
Hunt surveyed the room on an early spring morning. She admitted that while Affinity needs more from a space, the garden level of 5650 S. Woodlawn is special. "Something about the sofas or the lighting is really good," she said. The room is filled with furniture, tapestries, plants, curtains and artwork, all made or donated by members over the past 10 years. Hunt recalled programs and people that have passed through the space—groups of pot-luck brunchgoers, mothers and kids.
Nostalgia aside, Hunt remains optimistic. "Two months is real fast," she said. "But we've pulled off miracles before."
Affinity will host a community-wide packing party Saturday, June 19, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., at The Garden Level of First Unitarian Church, 5650 S. Woodlawn.
