Pride Lafayette Hosts New Community Center

At the risk of being charged with hometown boosterism, I'd like to congratulate and praise the founders and executive directors of Pride Lafayette for their dedication to the Greater Lafayette GLBT community and the opening of the new community center this past week. 

 

This is now the only full-service GLBT community center in Indiana.  (Indiana Youth Group – IYG – primarily serves central Indiana youth up to age 21.)   If you know the Lafayette/ West Lafayette area well, you'd be surprised to find this here.  Even a university town can be hyper-conservative!   But it all comes down to the vision and will of the local folks who saw a need and sought to fill it with the programs, resources and volunteer staffing it required.  And this includes both GLBT and Allied folks.

 

The whole program began with a joint effort of Lafayette folks for Indy Pride Fest a few years ago.  We decided to join together to staff a single booth.  A prime founder, mover and shaker has been my friend Kelly Leonard, who believed from the beginning that we needed to establish a safe space and has worked to maintain it throughout these years.

 

Programs that now run from this center include but are not limited to a resource library, social programs such as game night and Sunday dining out, HIV testing programs, a youth group – PRYSM, and discussion groups on such topics as transgender, religion and gays and health issues.  They provide a meeting center for Citizens for Civil Rights and the Greater Lafayette PFLAG.  And their open office hours allow for people who are new to town to meet the locals and get acclimated to their surroundings.  In fact, it’s not uncommon for people to google search "gay and Lafayette IN" and have the first hit be their website.  (www.pridelafayette.org )  They maintain a unified community calendar and have an active outreach to the Purdue Queer Student Union as well as other civil rights groups in the community.

 

This all-volunteer group (headed now by President Bryan Bell, VP Leonard, and Secretary Michael Behrens) struck a new note of diversity last summer by sponsoring Lafayette's first publicly open Pride Event – which will be followed by this year's OUTfest on Saturday, August 29^th (4-12 PM).  The event last year was an unqualified success drawing over 3000 visitors and gained a lot of great press, as did the opening of the center this past week. 

 

http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local_wlfi_lafayette_Pride_Lafayette_gets_a_new_home_200907101729

 

I'd invite anyone to visit Greater Lafayette and stop in to our new center at 640 Main Street.  You'll find a bright inviting space, decorated with local GLBT artists' work and a friendly volunteer staff to answer your questions.  Couldn't ask for more!

Comments

[ROY GOODMAN]

I READ THE ARTICLE IN THE JOURNAL AND COURIER AND IT WAS NICE TO READ. I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU. THE ARTICLE SAID THAT THE OFFICE HAS
ABOUT/OVER 800 BOOK TITLES. IS THIS CORRECT? I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT THEM IF I COULD. I'M HAVING A STRUGGLE WITH COMING OUT. I THOUGHT IF I COULD READ SOME OF YOUR OFFICE'S SELECTION IT WOULD ME. YOU CAN EMAIL ME AT roy1991@live.com.
IT'S GREAT LAFAYETTE HAS THIS OFFICE. HAS THE RESPONE BEEN POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE.? THANKS, FOR YOUR HELP.

[Alexandre]

Roy, got to the center and check the books. You may also want to join the Coming Out group.