Prior to moving to Benton Harbor in the mid-1990s, my partner Daniel and I lived most of our lives in the Keweenaw Peninsula, the most northern part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We grew up surrounded by Lake Superior, endless forests, and small towns settled by European immigrants with large families. And we attended college there too, myself at Michigan Tech and Daniel at Northern Michigan University.

I sometimes think that, second only to timber, the Upper Peninsula's biggest export may actually be young people with college degrees (many of whom, like us, are constantly planning how and when to move back). The first we ever heard of Southwest Michigan was when Daniel found a good teaching position at Lake Michigan College, and like many trailing spouses I have dabbled in a number of community organizations and volunteer activities. In the spring of 2005 I accepted the position of Coordinator for the YWCA Out & Affirmation Center, and it has allowed me to really concentrate my work on supporting the lives of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and allied community.

If given a choice between the safety of the darkness and the possible dangers of the light, I would choose the light. The LGBTQ community has worked hard to enjoy the freedoms we see today, but we have even farther to go.

Born and raised in Southwest Michigan, I experienced first hand the fear, pain and indignity that alleged moral intolerance promotes in the queer identified. I decided years ago to try and make a difference for myself and others. I see my involvement with the OAC as a way to continue the good work of those brothers and sisters who had come before me, and bring us all safely into the light.

When I first came 'out' there wasn't anything like the Out & Affirmation Center (OAC) in Berrien County. With suddenly becoming a invisible minority, I found myself needing a sense of community more than ever. I have been involved with the OAC since its inception. I wanted to be part of the solution in Berrien County, where the LGBTQ community would have a place to meet and feel safe.

To be honest, part of wanting to do this was self-motivated, I needed a place to meet other LGBTQ people, because I needed to be part of a community, to know that there where others like me in Berrien County. When asked to be on the Steering Committee, I accepted because of these reasons. Since becoming a Steering Committee member, I realized that the OAC's potential is far-reaching and I'm honored and humbled to be a part of this history.

I am on the YWCA OAC Steering Committee because of the possibilities it provides for making the world a little more just and loving for at least a few people and because working with the other committee members and the people at the YWCA is a good experience.

My connection to what was then the WCA began with an invitation to be on a committee considering the possibility of establishing a telephone help line for LGBT teens and providing diversity training for the WCA staff. That committee eventually became the WCA OAC Advisory Committee, which subsequently became the YWCA OAC Steering Committee.

The invitation to be on the committee came as a result of my being active in PFLAG St. Joseph/Berrien County and in both the Community Outreach and Religious Domains of the Council for World Class Communities. My being in these organizations was also because of the possibilities provided for love and justice and because of the people in those organizations.

My being active in PFLAG and the CWCC came about while I was in a leadership role in the Berrien Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. PFLAG was formed because of the Fellowship's Community Outreach & Social Action Committee. Consequently, I got to know the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people who supported-or were supported by-PFLAG.

Taking it back one more step gets to more personal motivation and explains my concern about LGBT people and issues. I am motivated by the fact that I am the parent of two gay children. I do what I do to compensate for what I could not do for my son, who committed suicide, and to affirm my daughter, both the person she is and what she has done with her life.

I could continue to trace my understanding of the causal relationships that got me to the Steering Committee, but this seems sufficient and stopping here seems appropriate.

 

As a sociologist, I have an educational background that is consistent with the interests of the OAC. I have a strong conviction that no one should be treated differently or not accepted because of their way of life or beliefs.

I came out as a gay man between 1985 and 87 when I was about 30 years old. After dating a few other men, I met a most interesting fellow, my life partner, Ron Robinson, in 1988. Soon, we started dating, fell in love, moved in together, worked through differences, shared life experiences, had a commitment ceremony, raised two children and lived our lives.

I joined the steering committee of the OAC in January 2006. My goal is to help it to continue to grow and become stronger.

I have been very active in the woman's community for twenty years. The past 15 years I have helped organize and promote many large woman's festivals. The OAC is a natural next step for me.

My coming to the Out and Affirmation Center was by invitation extended to me by the director of the WCA, Katherine Martin following the first Outfilm Festival. So I guess I was one of the Charter Members of the Steering Committee. I represented the mental health voice of support for the development of the Out and Affirmation Center here in Berrien County.

It has been an exciting growth process putting together the Out and Affirmation Center and the various programs we now have. I have continued to be a part of this process because I have always envisioned a place where GLBT persons of all ages could come together and gather support, get good information, and meet each other. There are many of us in this county, and historically we have been isolated from each other. Now we have a place and an opportunity to connect, meet, and learn from each other. I am proud to be a part of this endeavor.

I am hoping that anybody who comes to this website or to the OAC looking for help in dealing with sexual orientation issues, leaves with the knowledge that "it's okay to be gay" and that they become empowered to take the steps necessary to live a complete, authentic life. sexual orientation simply should not be an issue in today's society, and yet it remains a divisive one. as the civil right's issue of our time, it is incumbent upon those of us who believe strongly that members of the GLBT community are entitled to full-inclusion in society to continue to provide hope, encouragement, education, and support to those who need it. it is equally important that we advocate for policy change that bestows the same rights and responsibilities to the GLBT community that the non-GLBT community presently enjoys.

I've had the great fortune to experience life in a variety of settings: from small town America to one of its largest cities and I've seen first hand what a difference "community" makes on the lives of LGBTQ individuals. I was fired from a job while in college because my boss discovered I was gay. I vowed never to live in the closet again, but to personally live proud and open. While I was President of the Gay and Lesbian Student Organization in Graduate school, one of our members committed suicide after he was outed and again I vowed that I would work so others could live as open and proud as I was. Working to better the world for everyone equally is not just what I do for a living as a Social Worker, but it is also my passion. I am proud to be a part of the OAC and I am amazed at the work being done.