Community Visioning Event Marked Success

Two years ago, members and friends of Lincoln’s LGBT community gathered to lay out a vision for our community. On Oct. 9, a group gathered again to continue the conversation.

The goal was to give Lincoln’s LGBT community a set of priorities that could be collectively supported. Those in attendance included students, clergy members, parents and those wondering about entering assisted living. Not all were LGBT. Some had not attended an event like this before.

The hour and a half session at the Malone Community Center in Lincoln, began with asking a simple question: What has happened thus far? Since the previous gathering in the spring of 2009, some significant events had taken place:

• Lincolnites played a critical role in gaining Sen. Ben Nelson’s support of ending the discriminatory “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” policy.
• An openly gay couple won the Lincoln Journal Star’s dream wedding contest — thanks to your votes.
• A push that would make one of Lincoln’s largest employers, the University of Nebraska, a provider of benefits to unmarried partners.

The nearly 50 people in the room on Oct. 9 were thankful, but said their work was far from over.

The format of the visioning event allowed for each person to share their ideas with multiple small groups. When the conversations began, the concerns and ideas ranged from wanting to provide a clearing house of information to making roller disco the social event of the year.

People who had never met were suddenly making new friends and talking about the things that mattered to them most.

Over the course of an hour, the attendees brought their ideas together into six primary areas.

• Community Involvement and Visibility: Increasing the involvement of the LGBT community requires increasing the involvement of the broader Lincoln community as well.
  
  Take Action: Help us know what is going on with the LGBT community! Send the events that you think the community should know about to news@outlinc.org.

• Social and Educational Events: Educating and empowering ourselves and others while providing the social support everyone needs.
  
  Take Action: Suggest an event or join a planning group. Email info@outlinc.org if interested.

• Physical Community Center: A centralized physical location for the LGBT community to have meetings, obtain resources and support, and call a home.
  
  Take Action: Make a donation today to support a physical space.

• Expand the Resource Directory: Showcase the businesses that support the LGBT community.
  
  Take Action: Suggest a business or community organization online today.

• Community Climate: Our community has many different voices. Each of those voices must be heard and respected.
  
  Take Action: Write a blog about your own experience with Lincoln’s LGBT community.

• Health Care & Wellness: From teenagers being bullied to elders that are beyond retirement, different segments of the LGBT community have different health care needs.
  
  Take Action: Submit a friendly health care provider online today.
  
  

You can make a difference by taking one of the above actions or getting involved with other next steps. Visit www.outlinc.org to see some of the specific tasks and teams that have been formed. To get involved, email info@outlinc.org.

Participants at the event suggested that a community-wide visioning event should take place annually and that the community should gather quarterly to discuss the progress of different priorities.

Join Outlinc’s email list or become a fan on Facebook to be a part of the next visioning event or attend a progress conversation.

Abby Swatsworth