For our annual Volunteers issue, Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor spoke with LGBTQ-plus organizations in North County about creating community and support.
Volunteer at LGBTQ-plus organizations to help strengthen their presence in North County
Trish Heckler didn’t expect a lot of interest or support for an LGBTQ-plus organization when she first moved to the Santa Ynez Valley.
“In the last 15 years, I’ve noticed there’s definitely a lack of any sort of visibility for LGBTQ folks—a lack of visibility or support was obvious to me from the gate,” Heckler said. “A few years ago, I started volunteering for Pacific Pride Foundation in Santa Barbara doing their Proud Prom and working with queer youth and volunteering my time there, but I always wished for something up in the valley that supported queer kids.”
When she heard that the Santa Ynez Valley was going to host its first Pride parade and festival in 2022, Heckler said she instantly wanted to be a part of it. As a volunteer with the new nonprofit, SYV Pride, she was tasked with reaching out to community members to gauge interest and get people to participate in the parade.
“We saw the potential; it was very grassroots last year, but to see what happened has given us so much affirmation that people are really into this and it’s so fun,” Heckler said. “To show up for our community is important. The community at large, but especially the youth, need to know that they are supported not just verbally but we show up for them. It’s real. It’s authentic.”
Now, LGBTQ-plus organizations across the county are looking for more volunteers—particularly in northern and mid-county—to help the nonprofits reach more people in their area, or even survive into another year, and provide resources and a sense of community.
SYV Pride is shifting gears to Pride 2023, which is set for June 24, and is looking for volunteers at all levels, said Executive Director and CEO Golzar Meamar. The nonprofit wants more people on the ground at the parade to help with logistics along with representing the organization at other events, helping at educational community forums, or even acting as a board member.
“It’s important because we need allies,” Meamar said. “If you’re not in the LGBTQ-plus culture specifically, being an ally is incredibly important because we have to stand together. The more faces we have, the more people that stand with us, the better for our mission.”
The nonprofit’s goal is to achieve equality, justice, and respect for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities through education and celebration of LGBTQ-plus culture, something that’s especially important for the valley since there’s already been hardship.
In July, two community members stole and burned a Pride flag at St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley—which occurred right after Pride—and SYV Pride board members faced community members who believe what the organization’s doing is wrong, she said.
“It’s important that volunteers know they would be helping to really raise awareness and really educate people that don’t understand the culture,” Meamar said. “I want volunteers to feel like they are contributing in a meaningful way by having these conversations. As much as it is about celebration, the education component is key.”
House of Pride and Equality, a volunteer-based organization in Santa Maria, has hosted local events, held a Pride resource fair, and provided a space for LGBTQ-plus community members to gather and socialize. However, the pandemic hit the nonprofit hard, and it’s been struggling to regain traction, said Eva Didion, a House of Pride and Equality board member.
“One of the things that will help us get on our feet again after the pandemic is volunteers,” she said. “Frankly, we don’t know if we can continue on in the community without volunteers.”
House of Pride’s board makeup recently changed because previous members had a tough time balancing the nonprofit with other aspects of their life, she said. Even Didion herself was on the verge of calling it quits for health reasons.
“It’s been difficult; it’s been really difficult. People are getting sick and not able to make it to board meetings,” Didion said. “For each of us personally, we have commitments at home, [and] it doesn’t allow you to do much at the organization.”
But Didion stuck around because she saw the value in holding a space for LGBTQ-plus community members in Santa Maria and doesn’t think people should have to commute to SLO or Santa Barbara to find resources.
“Our community, we need to stick together. We look for community to feel safe; there are youth in Santa Maria who don’t feel like they have a place to go,” Didion said. “We just look for community within each other because that’s when we feel safe, and having events for youth is so important.”
House of Pride is looking for volunteers to join events and outreach committees and help lead group sessions, and for someone interested in working with LGBTQ-plus youth at schools, she said. It’s also looking for a grant writer to help apply for funding, and the organization would eventually like to find a permanent space to host events and conduct its work.
“We’re like a little family, and that’s what’s keeping us going,” she said.
Pacific Pride Foundation (PPF) is also looking to strengthen its organization in North County, recently reopening its Santa Maria office. The nonprofit’s in the process of hiring an outreach and education coordinator, Executive Director Kristin Flickinger said.
“It’s important that people know we exist, and it’s really meaningful when members serve as volunteers to carry the message and amplify the message of the care we provide to the community,” Flickinger said.
PPF’s Syringe Exchange and Narcan Distribution program has the greatest need for more volunteers, as there’s been an increasing number of fentanyl-related overdoses in the county, but it would welcome volunteers at the Santa Maria location to help with community events and outreach since there’s only one staff member at that office, she said.
Part of its goals include getting more bilingual staff members and volunteers on board to do a better job of reaching the Spanish-speaking community, she added.
“This whole year is going to be addressing unmet needs and [figuring out] how we can better address it. If people are interested in volunteer groundwork, if people want to come out and do Narcan distribution, [or] office work and inventory, we can accommodate that,” Flickinger said. “If someone thinks they might be a great board member, we are constantly recruiting and want people to represent north and mid-county.”
There will always be a need for LGBTQ-plus organizations within communities with discrimination still present, she said. In the 2021-22 legislative cycle, there was a record-breaking 238 anti-LGQTQ-plus and anti-transgender bills introduced in the United States, according to previous Sun reporting, and a November shooting in Colorado Springs at a gay nightclub killed five people and injured 17 others, Flickinger added.
“I don’t think you have to look very far to find that LGBTQ-plus communities face challenges and discrimination,” she said. “Our LGBTQ-plus based organization provides services, programs, and access, but I think more than anything we provide visibility and representation for all members of our community who might not see themselves reflected in a positive way anywhere else.”
Reach Staff Writer Taylor O’Connor at toconnor@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 12-19, 2023.