Guest Post by Lenore Dingus: Haudenosaunee-Seneca Perspective on Resiliency and Persistence

Indigenous peoples have come full circle from thriving to surviving, and back again. Everywhere that I turn this week I find advice, demands, and grief over the direction 73,455,333 American voters have steered us. It is a dark hour, but it is not the only dark hour. Our elders and ancestors have walked through dark times, […]

A Belated Tribute to a Warrior for Justice, Maggie Ritchey (May 21, 1950 ~ August 16, 2022)

I am two years late in posting the obituary of Maggie Ritchey. It is important to include tributes to the lives and deaths of our elders in this archive. International Lesbian Day seems like a good time to honor Maggie. I met Maggie through the Persad ‘Voice for a New Tomorrow’ group. in the mid […]

City of Pittsburgh Honors Life and Death of Trans Trailblazer Wendi Miller (July 14, 1947 – April 6, 2023)

Saturday, April 8, 2023 Declared “Wendi Miller Day” Coming out in the late 1990s brought me into the orbit of some of the iconic community leaders whose courage and prescience during the 1980s and 1990s laid the groundwork for the rights and privileges LGBTQ+ folx enjoy today in Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania. I didn’t know them […]

Donate Cat Food to These 8 Local Feral Colony Caretakers

where to donate cat food Pittsburgh

Some people tell me we should stay focused on human needs, not animals. I say we do both and more. I also say helping neighbors who give up their own food for their cats is helping people. A healthy, well-fed colony with a caretaker monitoring the cats is ideal. Yes, new cats will show up, […]

Jez, 50, Came Out As Trans in 1985 in Rural Washington County #AMPLIFY

Transgender Washington County

  Name: Jez Age:  50 County of Residence:  Washington Pronouns: she/her How do you describe your identity?  Transgender Please describe your coming out experience. Where did you find support? What challenges did you face?  Came out when the AIDS epidemic was rampant 1985 How would you describe yourself NOW in terms of “being out”? Struggling everyday to stay […]

Mission Accomplished! Gift Card Drive for LGBTQ Elders a Success

Pittsburgh LGBT elders

Congrats, folks. Together, we collected more than $1,000 in gift cards to be distributed to the 9 LGBTQ elders in the SAGE program that we told you about last month. This is so wonderful – we successfully met two goals with the lovely holiday party yesterday (all of the cookies) and the gift cards news […]

UPDATED One Week Left to Donate Gift Cards for LGBTQ Elders #ReachOUT

Persad SAGE party

We met our goal in less than 24 hours after posting this recent update! Thank you, Pittsburgh! The headline is this – we still need gift cards for some of the LGBTQ elders connected to the SAGE project with Persad Center. They are all over 55 and have little to no family support so this […]

Celebrate the Holidays with Persad, #ReachOUT to Isolated LGBTQ Elders

Send a Card to A Senior Citizen

We are kicking off our annual #ReachOUT project to collect gift cards to support isolated LGBTQ neighbors living throughout the region. Our partner in this effort is Persad Center which hosts the regional chapter of SAGE.  You can read about previous years projects here and here and here. This year, our project has two distinct components. […]

Jim, 63, Reminds Us That Environmental Issues are Queer Issues #AMPLIFY

Gay Pittsburgh

Name:  Jim Age:  63 County of Residence:  Allegheny, formerly Venango, Philadelphia Preferred Pronouns: Just don’t call me Mrs. How do you describe your identity? Gutter trash who happened to meet the right people, have the right fate, and got to see the world as an out gay man. It’s been a blessing I tell you. Thank you Jesus. […]

Nayck, 50, Identifies As a Black Gay Domini-rican in Pittsburgh #AMPLIFY

Gay Pittsburgh

  Name: Nayck Age: 50 County of Residence: Allegheny County, previously Philadelphia Preferred Pronouns: he/him/his How do you describe your identity? That can be a loaded question. I was born in the US, of Dominican parents and grew up in Puerto Rico. I’m of African descent, and consider myself gay. I guess that makes me a black, gay Domini-rican. Please […]