The People Behind ProjectQ, A Community Center & Food Pantry for LA’s LGBTQIA+ Youth

Many think of a haircut as a simple (maybe even slightly annoying) errand, but the founders of ProjectQ know that for some people, a haircut represents much more. The Los Angeles nonprofit organization gives gender-affirming haircuts and other services to the area’s LGBTQIA+ youth, many of whom are food and housing insecure.

Founder and Executive Director Madin Lopez started braiding hair in high school. In 2012, they set up a hairstyling table at the Queer People of Color Conference at CSUN. “The first person who sat down in my chair said, Can you shave my head? ‘Cause I want to come out to my parents when I get home,’” Lopez remembers of that day. “I realized that I can help people feel good about themselves, and that haircuts are powerful and they give you strength.”

In 2012, Lopez started ProjectQ out of a vintage Airstream trailer, affectionately known as “The Hairstream”. They gave hundreds of gender-affirming haircuts each year both in LA and across the country, primarily in the South, where LGBTQIA+ spaces were fewer and farther between. In 2018, the organization outgrew the trailer and expanded into the ProjectQ Salon & Community Center, a welcoming, multipurpose center that could do even more for LGBTQIA+ youth. 

“Brave Spaces”: ProjectQ’s Offering to the LGBTQIA+ Community 

Studies show that job and housing insecurities disproportionately affect queer youth and people of color. In 2021, 13% of LGBTQIA+ adults also reported experiencing food insecurity in the last month; for queer youth, that number rises to 30%. To give LA’s queer youth the skills they need to grow in the workforce and improve their quality of life, ProjectQ offers mentorship programs, workshops, and job training courses. They also run a food pantry and community fridge, which help to mitigate the effects of food insecurity in the LGBTQIA+ community. 

ProjectQ is also in a unique position to address the emotional challenges many LGBTQIA+ youth face, and to create community events that cater to those specific needs. One such event is their annual We Don’t Have Mothers Day gathering. “This event is for queer folx that have a complicated relationship with their moms, or folx who simply want to celebrate their chosen family/friends,” says Karina Aldana, Programs Manager at ProjectQ. “Many queer youth may feel left out or uncomfortable during traditional Mother’s Day celebrations, especially if they have faced rejection or are estranged from their families. We Don’t Have Mothers Day offers a welcoming space where queer youth can feel supported in their identity, while also giving them a sense of belonging.” 

This year, a team of volunteers from Free Moms Hugs SoCal came to We Don’t Have Mothers Day to give free hugs to attendees. “These moms gave our youth such a priceless experience; the feeling of being accepted and validated for who they are, regardless of how they choose to express themselves,” Aldana remembers. “Many of the queer youth that we serve are foster youth, unhoused, or are facing housing insecurity. To have a place where you can go to and feel comfortable in your own skin, while being surrounded by community, is truly a life saving experience for so many.” 

Stories from the People Behind ProjectQ

The best way to understand the real-life impact of an organization? By talking to its people. Whether it’s the first haircut they gave or the feeling of strength in community, everyone at ProjectQ has a different, yet equally important reason for doing the work they do. Here are just a few of the powerful stories from the people behind ProjectQ. 

Elektra, General Manager of Food & Hygiene 

“When the pandemic started, I fell into a deep depression that would end up lasting for three years. I wasn’t accomplishing any of my goals and every day felt like a struggle to keep going. I had dropped out of college, and because of that I felt that I had no purpose. I felt as though I had lost everything that made me who I am. 

I wanted to start working so that I could become financially stable and to move on with my life. I attended a virtual Trans Job Fair because I wanted to be in a working environment where people would accept me. That’s when I found ProjectQ.

ProjectQ has saved my life. My team at ProjectQ have taught me that I am worthy of living a life where I am happy. They have encouraged me to stand up for myself. They have provided me with opportunities that I wouldn’t have ever imagined that I would have. My job has given me a sense of purpose and has taught me that I am stronger than I think. I feel like myself again and I couldn’t have done that without ProjectQ.”

Karina, Programs Manager

“As a first generation Latina, I genuinely thought I was never going to reach a point in my life where I felt comfortable enough to accept my own identity as a bisexual woman. My parents immigrated from Guatemala and were devout Catholics. Being raised in a household where gender norms and religion were the central point of your identity, you simply learn to hide the parts of yourself you fear others won’t understand; being severely bullied during elementary school for my sexuality, I swore to myself that this part of myself was not okay to be shared with the world. I struggled with my own self worth and how I presented myself to other people. 

It wasn’t until I reached my junior year in college that I felt comfortable enough to publicly share my queer identity with friends and family. I came out to my family at the age of 23. Finally accepting this part of myself opened up so many doors and has given me the opportunity to find my passion of helping queer youth through the same obstacles that I faced when I was growing up. ProjectQ has helped shape me into the person my younger self would have loved to look up to. Having grown up in Koreatown, to be able to give back to the same community and neighborhood that has impacted in so many ways my whole life, is in a weird way, a full circle moment for me. 

ProjectQ goes beyond offering free services and resources to queer youth; ProjectQ gives queer youth hope that there is a chance to build a better future for themselves, a future filled with love, acceptance, and the ability to face the world head on even when others want you to keep your head down in shame. Being yourself is powerful and ProjectQ has taught me to see that power in myself.”

How to Support ProjectQ 

In honor of Pride Month (and as a part of our ongoing fight for food equality), our team at Thrive Market is partnering with FoodCycle LA to distribute 200 boxes of healthy groceries and fresh produce to the community ProjectQ serves. If you’d like to contribute to the organization’s work, visit their website to make a donation, or keep up with ProjectQ on Instagram for in-person events and ways to get involved.