If you live on the southern shore of Lake Huron and have been looking for a safe space that provides support and fellow LGBTQ+ people Blue Water Ally Center is now open. Learn more about who they are and what they do.
What is the name of your organization? Where are you based?
The Blue Water Ally Center is the first LGBTQ+ community center in St. Clair County, located at 1519 Military Street in Port Huron, MI.
What is your mission?
Blue Water Allies are a bridge of solidarity between LGBTQIA+ individuals and their allies to promote the common good of the entire community. The Blue Water Allies will create a safe space for LGBTQIA+ individuals by operating the Blue Water Ally Center. The Center will provide a safe environment for members of the LGBTQIA+ community to gather and support one another. The Center will provide an affirming environment for educational programming, support groups, resources for physical and mental healthcare, social, and artistic opportunities. Blue Water Allies will champion acceptance, understanding, visibility and justice for LGBTQIA+ individuals in the Blue Water Area and beyond.
How long have you personally been involved with your organization?
I have been personally involved with the BWAC since November 2022, when we first began discussing obtaining a 501 c3 and opening a brick and mortar center. We opened our doors in June.
What’s the most satisfying part of your involvement?
The most satisfying part of my involvement with the BWAC is seeing the positive impact I can make in the lives of my queer community members, both as a board member and as an active community member, mentor, teacher, and volunteer. I run a transgender social circle each week, as well as monthly mosaic and stained glass classes. We also planned Blue Water Pride, which saw over 1,300 in attendance our first year running the festival. Seeing the community members that consistently show up, seeing the growth in individuals and seeing people form healthy relationships and learn new skills in the safe space we have created- never in my life have I felt more fulfilled by the work I do.
What Is your favorite part of what you do?
My favorite part of what I do is teaching my art classes at the Blue Water Ally Center! I teach monthly mosaic and stained glass classes for beginners. I love seeing people experiment with learning a new medium. I also love hearing from people about why it’s important to them that we offer classes and social spaces because each story is unique and wholesome to me.
How do you specifically help the crossdressing and/or trans communities?
I host a weekly transgender social support circle at the BWAC, as well as assisting in the hosting of a range of LGBTQ+ friendly social events and classes. I regularly connect transgender young adults with gender affirming care resources in the area and often teach/supervise while they do their injections or even provide transportation to consultation appointments for gender-affirming care. Additionally, this Day of Giving event is my first gender-affirming garment drive that I have run, so I am actively building relationships with companies that produce gender-affirming garments in order to better serve my community in the future.
How long have you been involved with these communities?
I began my medical transition in 2021. I helped to form the BWAC in 2022-2023 and have been serving as a board member and community leader for transgender young adults ever since.
How does someone find your organization?
We do regular community outreach through social media (facebook, instagram) and in person networking. We hang fliers in hot spots around town for upcoming events so that new community members can learn more about our programming. We are located directly downtown Port Huron, so we even see foot traffic wandering in when we host programming.
How could someone reach out to help support your organization?
Our website has a link that allows our community to donate money and essential items directly to the Ally Center: https://www.bluewaterallies.com/services-2
Additionally, we host regular volunteer training days so that community members can volunteer to assist us with running events in our space.
What is your website? Are you on social media? (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube…)
Our website can be found at: https://www.bluewaterallies.com/
We are on Facebook as Blue Water Allies and Instagram @BlueWaterAllies
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