| Gay Pride More Than Just a Celebration |
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| Wednesday, 26 August 2009 13:46 |
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The New York Nonprofit Press provides information for and about nonprofit human service provider agencies in New York State. VCS Inc., was established in Rockland County, NY, in 1970. It is a private, not-for-profit family and community service agency with a social justice mission. VCS employs a unique combination of professional staff, trained volunteers and collaborative partnerships to respond to pressing family, therapeutic and social needs. Services include counseling, professional education and training and social justice programs. In keeping with this mission, in 1999, VCS created Gay Pride Rockland, the first pride event ever to be held in New York’s lower Hudson Valley. Unlike many events with a purposeful party atmosphere, VCS Gay Pride Rockland was meant to mainstream the reality of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and to confront the stereotypes that are often evoked by media’s images of gay pride parades. VCS Gay Pride Rockland is family friendly, child centered, free and welcoming to all. VCS Gay Pride Rockland Sunday 2009 took place at Riverspace, a not-for-profit arts organization on Main Street in Nyack, NY. Today, more than 140 non-profit agencies, community organizations, faith communities, municipalities and elected officials are co-sponsors. The day featured street vendors, family activities, a children’s carnival, entertainment and thought provoking and engaging speakers. The headliner was Knights Out - an organization of alumni from West Point who are fighting the immoral and unethical “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy of the United States Military. (Author’s Note: How many of our nonprofit human service agencies have a de facto “don’t ask – don’t tell policy?) As part of VCS’ commitment to creating an inclusive Rockland County, VCS provides education programs throughout the year featuring prominent films, authors, poets and speakers. We aim to increase awareness, both within and outside the LGBT Community on critical issues, such as the intersection of oppressions (e.g. being black and gay), transphobia, and marriage equality – to name a few. We also publish a highly used Directory of LBGT Friendly Businesses, Services and Community Organizations. This low cost advertising opportunity allows residents of Rockland County and beyond to know which services and businesses are LGBT welcoming. (There are reduced rates for nonprofits and religious organizations; government offices and nonprofits can also request a free listing.) Our main objective is to inspire change in culture and institutional norms and practices in our community. We work hard to help Rockland County and the lower Hudson Valley see that LGBT people, their friends, allies and families live and work in every corner of our county. LGBT families are as diverse as the rainbow that represents us. We are your bankers, painters, teachers, landscapers, doctors, etc. And to those who think they do not know anyone who is LGBT . . . think again. A slogan we saw on a bumper sticker says it all, “Someone you care about is Lesbian or Gay”. If that does not ring true to you it is because they or you are too uncomfortable to share it. This leads to a crucial point. There are literally hundreds of human service providers in the Hudson Valley of New York State. Based on our best assessment, LGBT individuals often do not or can not use them. And when this is the case, it is always due to the nature of covert, subtle and mostly unintentional heterosexism. Our work is to support existing organizations in assessing and then assuring that they are warm, welcoming and available to everyone - with no exceptions based on sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. The LGBT community does not need separate institutions and services. The LGBT community needs safe, affirming and nonjudgmental access to the same services available to others. What can you do? How can your organization become LGBT affirming? First and foremost, decide if it is crucial to your service delivery system to provide your services to everyone. If it is (and we surely hope everyone responds affirmatively) we suggest that your agency develop an analysis about oppressions – all of them. And, with an oppression theory analysis, you will recognize that if you are not consciously addressing heterosexism (and forms of oppression such as racism, sexism and classism, etc) you are enabling the insidious, invisible nature of superiorities and oppressions to thrive. Some concrete actions and questions are: 1. Review your organization policies: Do these policies include LGBT people? 2. Are LGBT people comfortable to be out in the workplace? 3. Are LGBT people on your board of directors? 4. Does your sexual harassment policy include harassment against real or perceived sexual identity or gender expression? 5. If you have LGBT affirming polices in place, how is staff being trained? 6. If training occurs only when a blatant heterosexist infraction occurs, how can that be changed within the framework of time and money pressures? 7. Learn ways to incorporate anti-oppression material into the day-to-day operation of your services. VCS Inc. and similar organizations are available to help get you started. This work is not easy. Working for justice never is. Yet we know that every ounce of energy devoted to undoing heterosexism, and in the larger picture all forms of oppression, is returned to organizations multifold. Try it. You’ll see what we mean. To learn more about VCS and VCS Gay Pride Rockland please find our websites www.vcs-inc.org , www.gaypriderockland.org or call 845 634-5729. Joseph Coe is Senior Staff of VCS’ Community Change Project. jcoe@vcs-inc.org Phyllis B. Frank is the Assistant Executive Director of VCS Inc. and Director of VCS’ Community Change Project. pbfrank@vcs-inc.org
* Institutional power plus discrimination and/or prejudice by heterosexuals against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people. This differs from the widely used term “homophobia” which is a medical term and by definition refers to an irrational fear or hatred of LGBT people. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
It seemed only natural for VCS Gay Pride Rockland to submit our events to their calendar. However, we noticed that they were not being posted. Fearing that the reason was heterosexism*, we emailed Fred Scaglione, NYNP’s editor. In a subsequent phone conversation, Fred indicated that his reluctance to post our events was because he thought of Gay Pride events as community activities, rather than human service programs, per se. After a dialogue about the VCS Gay Pride Rockland mission, it became clear to Fred that human service program providers should be made aware of our events and that he would include them. Fred also suggested that we write a “Point of View” piece about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) services as he believed that there are surely others who did not understand our goals. 
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