Over the last few years the Pride Center of Edmonton has been able to build upon successes, starting with having a stable home at its current location just east of downtown Edmonton. The stand-alone building is on a corner across from a school, and near a few different bus stops. Little Italy, China Town and the Royal Alexander Hospital is only minutes away. Once inside the Pride Center, you feel as though you have found the house of your long lost friend.

The yellow hue of the place creates a warm atmosphere that makes it easy to thumb through the books that are part of the Center’s extensive library, or fall into the comfy sectional that is parked in front of a large screen TV equipped to play both DVDs and VHS tapes. There is a number of computer terminals with Internet access, and tones of entertaining and enlightening information on the walls. Downstairs are the meeting rooms, a coffee bar and a living room. Throughout the space are friendly volunteers, busy working on projects, but never too much to share a smile with whoever is in the Center. The day I was there, the place was a buzz with the upcoming GLBTT Election forum that they are hosting. With all the Edmonton East and Edmonton Center candidates expected to attend (except for Conservative Laurie Hawn) the evening promises to be an engaging event.

The Centre is as it was meant to be - a community hub where people can come together to exchange information, become friends and find a sense of belonging and security, in a world that is still sometimes hostile to members of the GLBTT community.

In his new position as the Pride Center Administrator, Will Sutherland has been happy to see growth in existing and new services since he began his job 3 months ago. With Emily Johnson off to Yale, the Pride Center was primed for a new bright person to keep the center heading in the right direction. Sutherland brings with him experience growing up gay in rural Alberta, and also what he learned being a youth worker at the Hope Mission. It is only fitting, given his experience, that the Pride center would now be offering weekly drop in counseling.

The counseling (offered from 7-9pm on Wednesday evenings) is free, confidential and provides one-time solution-based counseling, meaning that people accessing the service will have an idea of how to proceed with their issues before they leave. Currently 3 councilors donate their time and are busy solid during the sessions. Moving forward, Sutherland would like to see a mix gender of councilors and would like to have more counseling available.

Along with his counseling experience, Sutherland also brings a history of accessing new monies for under-funded projects and groups. The Pride Centre fits those criteria. As Sutherland tells it, the Center’s cash flow is primarily based on donation, something that he would like to see supplemented by more stable and sizable funding. As the city and the culture changes more funds are needed to keep up with the demand.

One of the most popular groups that meet at the center is the Prime Timers (Tuesdays from 1-4pm). The group is aimed at GLBTT people over 65, and is seeing an increase in attendance, often times reaching over 20 people. One specific challenge that faces the Prime Timers is often that some have lived most of their lives in the closet. Sutherland tells of one man who dreads the idea of coming out to his great grandchildren let alone his own children.

For those who have lived openly gay lives, the dilemma is what to do when they begin to not to be able to live on their own or not take care of themselves. In a dream world Sutherland would like to partner with the Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton or SAGE (with whom they have been working to create GLBTT friendly senior programming) to create a GLBT seniors center where people could live out their remaining decades without going back into the closet.

Working with groups like SAGE is part of Sutherland’s master plan to give the Pride Center a higher profile within Edmonton. To spread the word, the Pride Center has had a booth at the opening of PLAY (Edmonton’s newest gay bar), participated in HIV Edmonton’s annual AIDS Walk for Life, and had a booth at a Non-Profit, Volunteer Event called Everything Edmonton.

For the first time, this summer through the help of the Duke of Edinburgh, the Pride center was able to host and facilitate CAMP OUT, an event that took 10 youth out into the country to experience the great outdoors. Growing up in the city, many of them had not had the means in which to leave the city on a vacation and so this was the first time they got to go camping. This is nothing new for the Pride Center. According to Sutherland, 60% of the people who currently access the center’s services are low income and living on the street. To meet their needs, as well as the needs of the GLBTT people who come in from the suburbs looking for other services, the Pride Center of Edmonton is always looking for new money.

To increase their community exposure and raise funds, the Center is putting on a Halloween fundraiser called “Witches, Bitches and a Couple of Brew” that will be happening in late October.

The Pride Center has also revamped their website not only to be more user-friendly but to also accept donations. Visit it for more information on the Pride Center of Edmonton, Services and Upcoming Fundraisers.

The Pride Center of Edmonton

9540 - 111 Avenue, Edmonton

(780) 488-3234

www.pridecentreofedmonton.org