By Ariana Bennett
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Aside from the Puerto Rican Pride flag hoisted high above the building, the unassuming exterior of the Waves Ahead San Juan community center stands in stark contrast to its vivid interior.
Behind a door painted bright pink and adorned with a multicolored pineapple, blue and white walls are decorated with vibrant art and educational materials canvas the waiting area. Here is where Waves Ahead, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing social services for the LGBTQ+ community, runs its four pillar programs.
The organization’s founder, Wilfred Labiosa, returned to his native Puerto Rico in 2014 after 27 years in the Boston area. Right away, he noticed a gap in services for queer people on the island, especially in support of mental health. “There was a community center for LGBT people, but it was really run down, with no funding,” he said.
Established in early 2019, the center is located in San Juan’s medical area. “When I saw this place I said ‘perfect’ because they can go to their doctors, and on the way out or the way before, they can come here,” he said.
Three years after moving home, Labiosa officially opened Waves Ahead from a small office on Calle de la Fortaleza in the candy-colored buildings of Old San Juan. Staff would walk from the office to Puerto Rico’s historic Carnegie Library to provide health services and business assistance to the local LGBTQ+ community.
Days after hurricanes Irma and Maria hit in September 2017, Labiosa began to mobilize in earnest. “We started to activate ourselves about three or four days after the hurricane, and we haven’t stopped,” he said. With a $100,000 budget and a staff of three, “I was able to mobilize volunteers to go into the community outside of San Juan to really be able to help our own, our LGBT people and our elders.”
Labiosa aimed to create an organization specifically focused on queer elders, who were especially vulnerable following the devastation of the hurricanes. On an island of 3.2 million people, between 8% and 12% are queer, and about 38% of those are seniors, he said.
“A lot of them are older, and they didn’t have any kids,” he explained. “People don’t talk to them because they were gay, or they’re too flamboyant or too girly.” Working from case files with often incorrect addresses, Labiosa and his volunteers would stand on street corners, asking passersby to direct them to the houses and eventually to individuals who might benefit from their services.
Following the hurricanes, Waves Ahead, with the help of dozens of volunteers, was able to help over 3,000 people across the island and rebuild 21 homes in seven municipalities. But these efforts — and the need — have not slowed. At the same time, just as hurricane reconstruction was winding down, thousands of earthquakes shook Puerto Rico’s southern coast. Then in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted an even greater need for the services Waves Ahead provides.
Labiosa has since established two more centers, in Cabo Rojo on the southwest coast — “second capital to the gay people” of Puerto Rico — and Maunabo on the southeastern coast. A fourth center is set to open in Loíza, located on the northeastern coast, before Pride in June. And in 2023, 66 housing units are scheduled to open in Isabela, in the northwestern region, which will be the first shelter and transitional housing project for both the LGBTQ+ community and elders on the island. After its completion, Waves Ahead will cover the entire island, Labiosa said.
“My goal was only to develop four centers. But then, because of the need,” he added, “I have been able to grow.”