Rose City Pride Committee aims to run events, provide resources, to LGBTQ+ community

There were multiple Pride Month events this past June, and Norwich community members want to be more focused in planning them going forward.

The Rose City Pride Committee will hold its first meeting on Monday at 6 p.m. at Foundry 66 on Franklin Street. The new organization, which doesn’t have a formal membership yet, will help to plan events for the LGBTQ+ community, and seek to connect them with services and celebrate the community’s accomplishments, said Global City Norwich Director Bobby Braboy.

The committee is intended to bring collaboration between multiple community groups within Norwich, including Reliance Health and Global City Norwich, Braboy said.

LGBTQ+ organizations, including school groups and New London-based Out CT, already exist in the area, but  having another organization makes the local LGBTQ+ community “greater and stronger,” JD Donner, owner of Antenna Independent Salon, said.

“We’re going to be planning many events to support our diverse group of residents in the area, so we can have a presence and feel included and respected,” he said.

This includes organizing a parade that isn’t just a Pride parade, but a diversity parade for all the cultures in Norwich, Donner said.

A need to connect member of LGBTQ+ community

While working on a capstone for a master's degree in social work, Tessa Cappiello, intake director for Reliance Health, found there are limited resources and outreach for LGBTQ+ people in the area. Even Reliance Health’s own Gay Straight Alliance had logistical difficulties at times, she said.

“Just trying to connect people in the community with each other was difficult down in this area of the state, which is not really the case for other areas in the state,” she said.

This summer's Pride events, including the flag raising at Norwich City Hall, Stonewall Speakers, and a drag show at the Norwich Arts Center, were well attended, and need to be more organized to keep them going, Cappiello said.

The drag show was sold out, and many people had donated and sponsored the drag show, so more events can be brought to the area, according to Donner, who was one of the drag performers.

People in the community approached Reliance Health and Global City Norwich with their ideas for future events, and an interest in collaborating and getting involved, Braboy said.

“Any ideas we come up with we can implement in time for Pride Month next year,” she said.

Plans to have LGBTQ+ events year round

When the group is fully active, the Pride Committee will have LGBTQ+ events year round, while also bringing access to resources, including mental healthcare, substance abuse treatment, housing, social support, and more, Cappiello said.

“Bringing something closer to home can hopefully be an asset, helping address their needs more holistically.”

The first meeting Monday isn’t going to be tightly structured. It will be focused on bringing people together, and figuring out who will sit on the committee, Cappiello said.

The Pride Committee should also be about creating “spaces to communicate and encourage one another,” Braboy said.

Donner wants people to attend “with an open mindset.”

It's important for all people to keep supporting the LGBTQ+ community locally, said Rev. David Horst of the Norwich Unitarian Universalist Church, which helped sponsor Norwich Pride events this year and will continue to do so.

"It's important that we all get on board and be a part of (supporting LGBTQ+ rights)," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Rose City Pride Committee to start in Norwich, to plan LGBTQ+ events