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04/11/2024 02:11 PMPress Release from North Haven Pride
North Haven Pride has received a $10,000 LGBTQ+ Justice and Opportunity Grant from the LGBTQ+ Justice and Opportunity Network, which was founded by the Connecticut General Assembly in 2017.
Administered through the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity & Opportunity (CWCSEO), as well as the Connecticut Judicial Branch, the network works to provide grant funding to LGBTQ+ non-profit, healthcare, and activist organizations across the state. The network also collaborates with local affinity groups and advocates to advise the state legislature regarding LGBTQ+ needs, issues, and concerns.
The grant will support North Haven Pride in its mission is to make North Haven a more welcoming place for all LGBTQ+ people, especially teens who may be struggling and/or have poor social support. The organization works toward this goal by hosting biweekly teen nights for middle- and high-school-age students, a speaker series for the community at North Haven Memorial Library, and an annual Pride celebration on the North Haven Green to be held this year on Saturday, June 8. The grant will also afford the organization the opportunity to develop new activities, such as queer-focused field trips, hosting inter-town events, and expanding the speaker series.
“Receiving this grant is tremendously validating to the work we have begun here in North Haven. Over the past two years, we have worked so hard to create North Haven Pride. We did that by listening to the community. Once they told us what they needed, we started organizing and taking action,” said Jamie Krzmarzick, North Haven Pride co-chair. “If you hear that teens are being bullied or don't feel safe in school or are even leaving the district to find safer options, you can't ignore this. This grant will help sustain the teen program we have started, continue to work on building safe spaces in our community, and bring greater education and advocacy to North Haven leaders. Everyone deserves a safe space to be their full authentic selves and, with greater resources, we can continue onward."
Krzmarzick’s co-chair, Brandi Mandato, agreed with those sentiments.
“Since its inception, North Haven Pride has been committed to ensuring our town is a place we feel proud to call home, a place where all our friends and family know they belong, a community where our children can blossom into their full, authentic selves,” Mandato said. “This investment from the LGBTQ+ Justice and Opportunity Network brings us closer to a tomorrow where LGBTQ+ people know that North Haven means ‘all of us.’”
For more information about the LGBTQ+ Justice & Opportunity Network, contact william.ollayos@cga.ct.gov. For information about North Haven Pride, email northhavenpride@gmail.com.