Stratford residents launch LGBTQ community centre

A group of Stratford residents have launched the city's first LGBTQ community centre.

The space will be virtual at first, and will serve as an information and social hub for residents and visitors of Stratford, as well as Perth County.

An in-person building will open in 2022 that will feature a lending library and spaces for social activities such as coffee groups, game nights and more.

"Different businesses or organizations were doing one thing or another but unless you knew about it, to begin with, you didn't really know what to go look for," said Bruce Skeaff, senior organizer of the Stratford Pride Community Centre (SPCC). 

"So we thought, well, that means that there is a need for an information hub and not just for pride month, but all-year round."

Skeaff moved to Stratford in November, and said as a gay, 50-year-old man he wondered where he could find places in the region that would be of help to him and make him feel at home.

"Questions arise like 'How do we find a welcoming real estate agent? How do we find a welcoming doctor, who doesn't make it seem so funny because you're gay, or lesbian, or trans?'" said Skeaff. 

"These are the kinds of ordinary questions that people ask and they're not being answered easily, and easily found."

The idea was also based off of a University of Waterloo study that examined a sense of place in the Stratford area for members of the LGBTQ community, by research assistant Dayna Prest. 

The study found that sense of place is connected to gender and sexuality. For instance, transgender and non-binary participants in the study said they were less at ease in that region compared to cisgender participants. 

Also, participants said they wanted more of a consistent and supported community in the area.

The objective of the centre is to provide the community with information regarding social activities and events for its members, and lists of LGBTQ-friendly services such as restaurants, mental-health services, doctors offices and more. 

"Two weeks ago we sent a letter out to about 200 different businesses and organizations in town ... and the replies we got back were just stupendous," said Skeaff. 

'Sounds like what Stratford needs'

Jennifer Jennings, a Stratford psychotherapist, said in a media release the community centre was much needed in the area. 

"What [Skeaff is] doing sounds like what Stratford needs and something many queer and trans people I've talked with have said they are missing from the community," she said.

Skeaff's priority is to enhance happiness and health in the Stratford community through this community centre. He said he would like residents and visitors to feel that Stratford is a happy and welcoming place to be. 

"I think it's a given that when your citizens are happy and healthy, then you're going to have a happy and healthy community — and that means everybody, not just one particular group," he said. 

"People should feel safe where they're living, being able to live a healthy life and feel welcomed."