Tag: Info

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition’s Executive Director Has Been Recognized in the PA Pride Power 100!

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition

June 1, 2023

We’re so thankful to City and State PA for naming our Executive Director K Foley as number 69 in this year’s Pride Power 100! This is K’s second year in the listing and we couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to represent Lancaster and our LGBTQ+ community.

K is our co-founder and executive director, and has overseen the launch of the Homelessness Emergency Assistance and Response Team (HEART) program in February 2021 and the Loop community hub in June 2022. Our latest initiatives include an emergency overnight clinic and a behavioral health and wellness program with pop-up clinics in partnership with Planned Parenthood and Alder Health.

City & State’s Pride Power 100 – compiled by freelance writer Jeremy Rodriguez – recognizes the people in the state who are making strides to create safe spaces and remove the limits for current and future generations. 

Youth Action Board Members Needed June 14th! Compensation Available

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition

May 31, 2023

A Youth Action Board (YAB) is made up of youth and young adults who have experienced or are experiencing homelessness. These groups provide leadership and guidance in partnership with adults and directors who lead services in the community to end youth and young adult homelessness in Lancaster County.

Are you between 18-24, and have experience with housing insecurity? Want to advocate in Lancaster and make some coin? Join the Youth Action Board!

Register now to join the YAB at The Candy Factory at 342 N. Queen Street on Wednesday, June 14th from 3-6 PM! Food and compensation will be provided: $25/hr for your time.

Mark Your Calendar: Join Us for a Pride Poetry Event on June 15th with Lancaster Changemakers!

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition

April 28, 2023

Pride Poetry is an all-ages poetry open-mic community event featuring BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists. Join Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition and Lancaster Changemakers on June 15th for an evening of poetry with 3 featured poets, including Poet Laureate of Lancaster Evita Colon!

Pictured: Participants at a Pride Poetry event earlier this month

Keep an eye out on our blog and socials for more information closer to the event date! Find more resources and see how you can get involved at the Lancaster Changemakers Website!

Parents of Trans Kids: Join Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Center April 5th!

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition

April 4, 2023

Great news! The Parents Of Trans Kids Group at Bradbury-Sullivan is holding their next session on April 5th, and it’ll be a great opportunity for parents to learn more about supporting transgender children in today’s world. If you haven’t already registered your interest with the Bradbury-Sullivan team, please fill out their intake form as soon as possible! The meeting will take place via Zoom at 6pm on April 5th and is open to all parents who have a child or children going through this transition.

Fill out Bradbury-Sullivan’s intake form here!

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition Signs Letter Supporting GLSEN Rise Up Resolution

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition

March 31, 2023

This week, the Rise Up for LGBTQI+ Youth in Schools resolution was introduced; a call to demand equal educational opportunity, basic civil rights protections, and freedom from erasure for all students, including LGBTQI+ young people in K-12 schools. The National Education Association, American School Counselor Association, and National Association of School Psychologists join GLSEN in supporting this resolution. Learn more at GLSEN’s website!

Meet the future with the Coalition at STARDUST RHAPSODY; our 2023 GAYLA!

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition

March 14, 2023

2023 Gayla: STARDUST RHAPSODY May 13th 2023

Join us Saturday, May 13, 2023 at the Imperial Blue Ballroom and Imperial Terrace for a celebration of Queer identity and community, and how far we’ve come as a collective force in Lancaster! 

This year’s theme is STARDUST RHAPSODY. Come dressed in your galactic best! Calling all dashing space rogues and laser sword lesbians; this year’s outfit concept/motif is GLAM GALACTIC! Keep an eye on our Insta for outfit and theme inspiration leading up to the event! Michelle Johnsen will be on-site assisting with photography all night long. Our featured DJ will be MAJOR VIBES.

Awards Ceremony ticket holders will join our Galactic MC Chi Chi Mizrahi at 6PM on a journey through the stars, honoring changemakers in the Lancaster community. At 7PM, dinner will be provided (and we will reach out to ticket holders to receive your meal choice). We’ll open the evening with an awards ceremony honoring local community trailblazers, then feast and sip on the night’s signature cocktail; DIMENSIONAL SPACE DISTURBANCE. Explore new nebulas at our dance party, where we’ll inspire the future of Queer community and found family! After 10:30PM, everyone’s invited to our cosmic jamboree in The Imperial restaurant, featuring a live mix by DJ Stygian!

Get your tickets now!

Masks are highly recommended for this in-person event.

PHOTOSENSITIVITY NOTICE: While the awards ceremony will not feature flashing lights, the dance party may include flashing lights. If you have photosensitive conditions, please keep this in mind.

COVID-19 POLICY: Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition values every life in our community and desires to continue to protect the lives of those who are immune-compromised or otherwise at high risk for COVID-19. 

  1. We are asking all attendees to show proof of vaccination or negative Covid test from within 72 hours before the event
  2. Please wear masks indoors unless you are actively eating or drinking

We look forward to seeing and celebrating with you!

Lancaster’s GAYLA to Celebrate Community Changemakers is Back!

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition

March 13, 2023

2023 Gayla: STARDUST RHAPSODY May 13th 2023

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition will celebrate Queer identity, found family, and the progress we’ve made at our 2nd GAYLA at the Holiday Inn Lancaster on the evening of Saturday, May 13th.

Our theme this year is STARDUST RHAPSODY. Attendees are encouraged to come dressed in their celestial best starting at 6:00 pm. Michelle Johnsen will be on-site assisting with photography, MAJOR VIBES will provide the tunes, and an exclusive signature cocktail and mocktail will be available all night long. Awards ceremony ticket holders will join our Galactic MC Chi Chi Lazaro once again as we honor changemakers in the Lancaster community.

At 10:30 pm, everyone is invited to our cosmic jamboree at The Imperial!

Tickets are available for purchase here.

Proof of COVID-19 vaccination will be mandatory for this in-person event. Masks are highly encouraged, especially ones that are on-theme! 

Celebrate the Holigays With Us, and Get Your Vax as a Plus!

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition

December 16, 2022

Holidays are complex for the LGBTQ+ community. To address the need for community around the holidays, AND offset the increased risk of gaythering, we are partnering with Union Community Care on two COVID booster/flu Vaccination clinics placed intentionally before the Winter holidays before New Years Eve celebrations!

Nurse Practitioner Erica Lehman will be donating her time to run the clinic and Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition will use grant funding from Union Community Care to host “Holigay” parties with performances and DJs.

Clinics will be held on the next two upcoming Wednesdays; December 21 and December 28, from 5PM to 8PM at the Loop, 117 E Chestnut Street, Lancaster PA 17602.

To sign up, please call Union Community Care at (717) 299-6371

“As a trauma therapist I am increasingly concerned about the constant confusion and quite frankly, the insanity of our current culture.

Rules around keeping people safe from COVID or the variants flying around are arbitrary at best and definitely not rooted in protecting vulnerable, marginalized communities.

We want to find ways to be proactive and protect our community members while tending to our other great need: community support.”

K. Foley (she/they), Executive Director

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition Receives $25k Safety & Security Grant from the State of Pennsylvania

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition

December 16, 2022

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition is extremely thankful to the State of Pennsylvania’s PCCD’s Nonprofit Security Fund Grant Program for awarding us a $25,000 grant to improve the safety and security of The Loop, our HEART Program housing locations, and our LGBTQ+ Health Clinic opening in early 2023.

We are a grassroots organization that works to create a safe and welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ people in Lancaster County. We do this by providing education, advocacy, and support to our community and to local businesses and organizations looking to make a positive impact.

“We live in a time of increased targeted violence against LGBTQ+ individuals and families, as well as focused attacks on our basic rights. Our headquarters is located in the heart of Lancaster City. The concern for the safety of our staff and volunteers has slowed our progress with initiatives and programming, but this grant will give us the ability to swiftly implement a person-centered security model that is rooted in working to ensure that all intersections of our community feel welcomed and protected.

We commit to making choices that shift how security is often used in a way that can feel threatening to targeted communities. The biggest failure in that approach is that it is often used to intimidate and justify discrimination.

We will use innovative methods that continue to involve input from our community. And just like equity is a process and not a destination, we will continue to reevaluate our security protocols so that they are not only protective, but inclusive and welcoming to all.”

K. Foley (she/they), Executive Director

Scholarship for Students Living with HIV/AIDS

Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition

December 7, 2022

The HIV League Scholarship is the only national scholarship for students living with HIV. We’re so excited to boost the news that they have just announced that they are accepting applications for the 2023 round of scholarship applications until January 31st at 11:59PM Eastern Time.

The criteria to apply for this ninth round of scholarship funding are as follows:

  • You are living with HIV/AIDS
  • You will be enrolled in an institution of higher education as a full-time or part-time student for at least one year beginning with the Fall 2023 semester
  • You are going to an institution of higher education in the United States or a United States territory. American citizenship is not a requirement

We only have one type of scholarship this year, and it is listed below:

  • 1 year $3,500 scholarship for full-time and part-time students

Please find all of the materials you will need to apply at www.hivleague.org, www.hivleague.org/scholarship, or at the application link HERE

If you have any questions, please call the HIV League at 828-467-4025.