A new LGBTQ resource center is on the horizon in Fall River, Massachusetts.
The cofounders of F.R. Pride, attorney Karina Valencia and social services coordinator Nikita Santiago, are hard at work creating the new resource center for their community. Valencia also serves as a public defender with Fall River’s Committee for Public Counsel Services Defender Division, and Nikita as a care coordinator at SSTAR, the nonprofit health care and social services agency.
“There’s a lot of great nonprofit work in Fall River, but the fact that there’s no LGBTQ-specific programs and services is what really stood out for us,” Valencia told The Herald News, which covers the Bay State’s south shore, for a December 9 article.
Gearing up for F.R. Pride’s formal launch in June 2019, they’ve initiated fundraising and grant-writing, established a directory of LGBT-friendly businesses, which is available on their website livepridefully.org, and recently held a screening of “Boy Erased,” which they say with its storyline showing the harmful effects of gay conversion therapy, would not likely have been shown in their area.
The Herald Press story also reported that:
[Santiago and Valencia] were spurred to action in May, when they traveled to Boston to view a presentation on a report that found members of the state’s LGBT population still face discrimination, placing them at increased risk of depression and illness.
They learned of several organizations that exist to support LGBT people in Greater Boston and around Worcester. But when it came to Fall River, there was a need for a resource center attuned to the community’s needs.
Santiago said the nearest LGBT services center is SouthCoast LGBT Network, in New Bedford. Though Fall River is home to a sizeable population of gay and transgender people, visibility here is low.
Part of F.R. Pride’s mission is to connect gay, bisexual and transgender people with “culturally sensitive” medical and mental health care providers who are familiar with issues that disproportionately affect the community, said Valencia.
When care providers do not understand those issues, patients can isolate themselves, and can sometimes avoid the doctor, said Santiago. Some, particularly youth, may hold back from disclosing their sexual orientation to a doctor for fear they will be outed to their parents.
“Dealing with someone who is questioning their identity or maybe is still transitioning and their providers aren’t culturally sensitive, it can cause people to withdraw, it can make them feel like they don’t have support,” she said.
F.R. Pride will also offer support to parents of LGBT youth, who may be struggling to figure out how to support their children, Valencia said.
“There’s also a population of heterosexual parents with LGBT kids who are aware, educated, and who want to be more supportive and accepting of their kids, but maybe don’t have a network, or don’t know where to get services, or maybe just to have play dates with other kids,” she said. …
More broadly, F.R. Pride’s overarching mission is to increase visibility of a historically marginalized population.
“Increasing visibility is not about making us stand out, it’s about helping folks feel more comfortable with the fact that in the end, we’re essentially all the same,” said Valencia.
