The Vision
Each day, all around the world people come to A Place To Be to have enriching conversations, to experience a program that inspires them, or even to dialogue about their visions, a project, piece of art, a book- in the company of others.
Some drop by to celebrate what they have achieved today. Others are there simply to find refuge in conversations that can support them through daily challenges of life in a safe, comfortable, and healthy meeting place.
-Byron Johns, Founder, A Place To Be
A Place To Be (APTB) is a global community hub where individuals are empowered to thrive through shared resources, engagingprograms, and transformative experiences. APTB nurtures personal growth while cultivating a worldwide network rooted in care, culture, and connection.
A Place To Be’s mission is to:
- Create meaningful interactions and connections
- Link individuals and communities
- Have a long-term impact on humanity and how we co-exist
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A Place To Be (APTB)
is a global community hub where individuals are empowered to thrive through shared resources, engaging programs, and transformative experiences. APTB nurtures personal growth while cultivating a worldwide network rooted in care, culture, and connection.
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The Commitment
A Place To Be is an international network that provides opportunities for people to cultivate meaningful interactions that nurture, inspire, empower and transform.
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Founder's Message
A Place To Be (APTB) was conceived in New York City in 1995 through the People of African Descent Empowerment Group, grounded in a commitment to community, dialogue, and collective growth. While the original community has since dispersed across the globe, the vision has endured. For more than thirty years, that vision has been carried forward through changing times and evolving contexts.
Contemporary Dialogues
Central to APTB’s mission is its Contemporary Dialogues platform, facilitated conversations that bring people together around shared concerns, values, and commitments. These dialogues:
- Raise awareness and understanding
- Educate across communities
- Provide space for reflection and storytelling
- Spark projects and actions that strengthen community life
Aging with Purpose, Vitality, Connection, and Grace
Reimagine what’s possible in the
next chapter of your Life. We’re living longer, healthier lives and that opens up powerful new opportunities. The outdated view of aging as a slow decline is being replaced by a bold, inspiring vision: conscious aging. Instead of drifting into the future, what if you could step into it with clarity, energy, and meaning?
The workshop supports participants in re-imaging what it means to be an elder in today’s world emphasizing identity, wisdom, leadership, and legacy. The main thrust is creating one’s role as an elder and how one thinks about oneself in relation to the community, family, and others in the world.
from the Los Angeles Black LGBT Community is a transformative cultural preservation and community engagement initiative led by Dr. Byron Johns leveraging the interviews commissioned by UCLA’s Center for Oral History Research (COHR). The project documents and celebrates the lives, wisdom, and contributions of Black LGBTQ+ leaders and elders in Los Angeles, individuals whose impact has too often been excluded from mainstream archives and public memory.
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A Place To Be is a Non-Profit 501(C)3 Organization