Articles from the Constitution State
New digs for New Haven Pride Center
The New Haven Pride Center is moving from the basement of 84 Orange St. into a brand-new, street level space at 50 Orange St., where Artspace New Haven previously occupied. In November, they signed a 10-year lease.
The plan is to fill the bright, new space with areas for community meetings, a private room for support and affinity groups, areas for artist pop-ups and maker fairs, and much more—plus the visibility the street-front spot with provide.
“It just feels so good to think that this year, we came out of everything with this space,” Pride Center’s Executive Director Juancarlos Soto said in a statement from the Greater New Haven Arts Council.
“Being in the LGBTQ+ community, visibility is our strongest weapon,” the Center’s Board President Nicholas Bussett added. “Being so visible and so available to people, it’s far more welcoming. Just the amount of people we’re going to be able to help in that space is going to be so much more significant.”
Plus, the Center’s aims to partner with other nonprofits.
“We’re making sure that we’re inviting community members and organizations that haven’t always worked with us,” Soto said, including the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK), three churches that surround the New Haven Green, Junta for Progressive Action, Connecticut Students for a Dream (C4D), the Connecticut Oral Health Initiative and YNHH, which provides free clinical support for LGBTQ+ youth seeking therapy.
“We’ve always wanted to provide those things, but we didn’t have the space,” said Soto. “In every sense, we want to make this as much the community’s [space] as it is our space.”
More: newhavenpridecenter.org
Bethel book club
This January and February, Bethel CT Pride’s Online LGBTQ+ Book Club will read two new books. First off, in January, the discussion will be on Sacha Lamb’s “When the Angels Left the Old Country.” Next up, in February, it’s “Ace & Proud: An Asexual Anthology.”
Bethel CT Pride hosts these online book club events in collaboration with Rainy Day Paperback Exchange, a queer-owned bookstore. The books discussed are geared toward older teens, and the discussions are held on Discord. All of the books include LGBTQ subjects, whether fiction or nonfiction.
More: bethelctpride.com; rainydaypaperback.com
Support for young adults
Norwalk’s Triangle Community Center will continue to host “YAS! Young Adult Space” on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2 to 6 p.m.
A “safe and affirming space,” according to TCC’s website, YAS! is geared for young adults, ages 18 to 25, looking for support services. Case managers are available to assist with college and job searches, documents for name changes, housing searches and more. The first YAS! dates this year are Jan. 3 and 4.
More: ctpridecenter.org
Game Night in Enfield
On Jan. 1, Enfield Pride is hosting their Game Night & New Year Party at Enfield Congregational Church from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Fun includes games, pizza and drinks. In case you miss this one, visit their website for more upcoming game nights and other events for the community.
More: enfieldpride.org
HRC Municipal Equality Index
For the sixth consecutive year, scores increased across the United States on Human Rights Campaign’s 12th annual Municipal Equality Index, and many New England communities were once again at the forefront.
On a scale of 0–100, the Index measures how inclusive municipal laws, policies and services are for LGBTQ+ people who live and work in select municipalities of various sizes within each state. Communities are rated based on nondiscrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement and leadership on LGBTQ+ equality.
In Connecticut: Norwalk and Stamford both received 100s. Hartford scored 99, New Haven 85, New Britain 83, Waterbury 69, Storrs 61, Fairfield 46 and Bridgeport 42.
More: hrc.org
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