How it All Began...

Dr. Bob Deisher, Lambert House’s founder, was an out gay Pediatrician, and Director of the Center on Human Development and Disability at the University of Washington. He observed LGBTQ+ youth in the clinics he oversaw experiencing higher rates of negative health and mental health outcomes than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. He thought if they could just meet each other and have a way to make friends with other LGBTQ+ youth, their physical and mental health outcomes might improve.

1981: Dr. Deisher founded the Association of Gay and Lesbian Youth Advocates (AGLYA) and received 501(c)3 status from the IRS. AGLYA was the first social service organization in the United States with a mission solely dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth to receive 501(c)3 status from the IRS.

1986: AGLYA was Incorporated with the Washington Secretary of State by the first Board Members: Dr. Deisher, Gretchen DeRoche, and Jeffrey Sakuma.

1991: AGLYA seized an opportunity to lease an old Victorian house in Capitol Hill, Seattle's LGBTQ+ neighborhood.

1994: AGLYA took on the name Lambert House in honor of Gray Lambert, past Board President who was credited with starting an LGBTQ+ youth telephone hotline, and holding AGLYA together in the late-1980s. Gray Lambert died of HIV/AIDS related complications in August of 1991.

2016: Lambert House purchased its long-time facility in Capitol Hill, becoming only the 5th standalone LGBTQ+ youth organization in the country to own its own facility.

Today: Lambert House has a national and international reputation as a leading organization in the Northwest for queer youth.