Hello again everybody. Well, it is nearly time for us to get our PRIDE on! I hope that your plans for September 6th are coming along, whether you are looking at entering the parade or attending Shaw Millennium Park for the festival, or simply coming to line the parade route and support the entries. I can tell you that our plans for the CPS entry are coming along nicely, although some of the grander plans I had have had to be put on the back burner due to budgetary constraints. Having said that, our level of support for parade participation is growing on a daily basis, and I am optimistic that we will exceed last year’s tremendous turnout in uniform. In addition, we will certainly be having higher ranking officers taking part, which is a fantastic show of support not only to our external LGBTQ* community, but also to our own staff members. At this stage I cannot confirm who, or how many, but it will be nice to see more ‘brass’ at the parade.
I want to tell you about a productive meeting I had recently with a very inspiring and motivated young man, Robbie Nakoneshny. Robbie has designs to house and feed LGBTQ* youth, while at the same time helping them to avoid sexual exploitation and refrain from substance abuse. This is borne out of his own personal experiences, so he has first-hand knowledge of the challenges that are faced. We chatted for a bit and, although CPS are not in a position to financially help get this project off the ground, we certainly see the benefits of such a resource and will support it in other ways. Good luck Robbie – I wish you well!
Finally, it is with heavy heart that I tell you of a community member service that I attended recently; a celebration of life for Jesse Dostaler, who sadly lost his life in a train incident on July 16th. Jesse had previously attended Camp fYrefly and, although I did not personally know Jesse, I was inspired by his attitude and commitment to be true to himself and live life to the fullest. The pain of losing someone so young, with so much to give, was clearly evident. I want to extend my support to anyone who is still struggling with coming to terms with Jesse’s passing. Please feel free to get in touch with me, and I will connect you with some special people that I know.
As always, stay safe and look out for each other. Let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns, and I hope to see you all at Pride.
