For the third year running, Full Spectrum Community Outreach Center hosted a free Thanksgiving feast for the community.

"Every year, people come back, they hear about it from different places, they bring friends, they bring family," said Katie Coriston, operations manager for the organization on W Earle Ave. in Youngstown. 

While the Thanksgiving celebration was open to all, Full Spectrum focuses on supporting gay and transgender individuals in the Mahoning Valley — people who may struggle during the holiday season. 

"A lot of times, people are not welcomed by their family," Coriston said. "They're not accepted [for] who they are, and that could be very difficult, to kind of live a lie. So they are welcomed here." 

Lily Fisher, a first-time visitor of the outreach center from West Virginia, said the atmosphere was "very accepting, very open."

"As far as I know, it's a very safe place for a lot of the members of the LGBT community to come in and feel safe in a place where they can be themselves, learn about themselves, learn about others, and just kind of have a break from the outside world," said Fisher, who described herself as an intersex woman and ally of the LGBT community. 

Full Spectrum is looking to expand its operations in the coming months. It is on track to open up transitional housing next year, expected to be the Valley's first shelter focused on supporting LGBT adults.

"There's permits, there's licenses, there's staff, there's so many things, but all of those pieces are coming together," Coriston said. "We are drafting, like, employee handbooks and guest accommodations, and putting together beds and all the exciting things."

Coriston told 21 News there is not yet a set date to launch the transitional housing, which will start with 2-night stays and work up to 60-day stays, but the goal is to open it by spring 2026.