One look at the explosion of rainbows in stores tells you it's Pride Month .
But there’s another physical manifestation of Pride that’s not just changing wardrobes: it’s changing lives.
A drive down Pike Street in Covington takes you past bars and bakeries, ice cream parlors and the landmark Anchor Grill.
News: Pride Month events in Greater Cincinnati ?️?
And smack in the middle of all of that is a gray stone building, topped by gargoyles. It’s the home of the NKY Pride Center, set to officially open in July.
“The mission all along was to open up this space,” said Bonnie Meyer, NKY Pride Center Co-Chair.
That mission took more than a decade. NKY Pride started as a festival in 2010, and that celebration quickly grew into a discussion about a greater need.
“The group came together and said, we need a community space. We need to do more to support LGBTQ youth,” said Meyer, who’s also Northern Kentucky University’s director of LGBTQ programs and services.
Entertainment: Everything you need to know about how to summer in Cincinnati
It was in that position she realized the growing need for a one-stop shop.
“I had so many individuals reaching out to the office. Because there’s no LGBTQ center (in NKY) ... if you Google it, you get a university,” she said.
Phone calls and emails from educators, parents and community members looking for support services for themselves or their loved ones were all being funneled to her. “And it was really through the intense need from the community – we have so many talented people across Northern Kentucky – that we thought, we really need to pull these folks together to expand the support.”
The NKY Pride Center will have everything from coffee and networking to free public Wi-Fi and a retail space for all that rainbow gear.
But it’s the center’s support services for youth and adults that will be its cornerstone. “I heard from the juvenile justice system that there are so many youth in the system for things like truancy. They’re going to school and getting picked on and they don’t have the support,” Meyer said. “They need a place. They need a community.”
Entertainment: What's canceled, what's not. A look at the area's biggest summer events of 2021
Northern Kentucky is an area undergoing change in this arena: Covington was the first city in Northern Kentucky to pass a fairness ordinance (2003) and the first in the state to ban conversion therapy (2020). It’s no coincidence that it’s also the location of the Pride Center. Meyer said Covington has been behind the effort “with people power and financial support and partnership. They’re an incredible partner to the Pride Center in supporting so many of the services we’ll be able to offer.”
“I really think it’s been the regional movement that’s gotten us to this point,” said Meyer.
And so the countdown is on for the NKY Pride Center to officially open its doors in a few weeks; with rainbows on the windows and gargoyles on the roof – and with community support fueling it.
Join Kathrine on Coffee Break with Kathrine, weekday mornings at 10 a.m. on The Enquirer's Facebook page. You can also sign up to receive her weekly e-newsletter at cincinnati.com/newsletters .
