LGBTQ+ ally groups discuss resources, support for queer community in North Canton

NORTH CANTON – Local groups gathered Monday evening at the North Canton Public Library to spread support and resources to people from the LGBTQ+ community and their families.

The event was sponsored by the Akron chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or PFLAG, an organization that focuses on allyship with those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning community.

More: How to be an ally to LGBTQ friends

Other groups represented at the meeting included Queer in Canton; Stark Pride; OutSupport Medina; and the Northeast Ohio chapter of the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, or GLSEN.

Kim Rivers, PFLAG Akron president, stood in front of the room of about 30 people and asked them to imagine a scenario in which someone close to them came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

"Maybe it's your sister, maybe it's your best friend, maybe it's your child, and they have a conversation with you, and they come to you and they say, 'I'm kind of nervous, but I really want you to know that I'm a bisexual,'" Rivers said. "These sentences are cause for celebration and happiness ... but they can be confusing, and they can be scary. ... This is where we come in, and it's where we provide support."

The event included remarks from six speakers followed by a question-and-answer period. There was also a table of pamphlets and educational resources.

Several of the speakers, including Jonathan Becker, chair of entertainment for Stark Pride 2022, shared their thoughts and experiences on being openly queer.

"It's exhausting having to put away our anguish, our anger, our sadness and the resulting stuff that goes with it when so constantly confronted with having to justify one's right to exist in the world," Becker said.

Abby Henry, founder of Queer in Canton, an LGBTQ+ nonprofit, said LGBTQ+ support systems in Canton, including resources and gay and lesbian bars, contrast dramatically with Washington D.C., where she attended college. After graduating from American University, she moved back to the area in part to grow the existence of areas where queer people can feel safe and accepted.

Reaffirming support after Jane Timken Hoover High ad

A catalyst for the meeting was Jane Timken's campaign ad for U.S. Senate. In the ad, the Republican, who finished fifth in the May primary, was shown in Hoover High School's gym while girls practice on basketball courts in the background. The overall message was opposition to transgender athletes competing in high school sports.

More: Jane Timken uses Hoover High School as backdrop for controversial campaign ad

After the ad first aired statewide in March, some Hoover students and parents decried school officials' decisions to allow Timken to shoot a campaign promotion in the gym. The outcry led North Canton City Schools to reevaluate policies regarding rental guidelines of school facilities.

Though they were concerned about the ad, the organizers of Monday's event were adamant that the meeting was not political and was instead intended to reaffirm the support available to the LGBTQ+ community.

Feedback from the crowd

Kate Detweiler, a family support specialist at Hoover High, said she attended because she wanted to understand the things affecting members of the LGBTQ+ community in North Canton. Many students she works with at Hoover High are part of that community, she said.

"I think I learned a lot of resources that I can pass onto other families, especially [from] Queer in Canton and then PFLAG, for families who are struggling to understand or need support as they're raising kids who identify with the LGBTQ+ community," Detweiler said.

One of the members of that community, Wybie Crown, a sophomore at McKinley High School, said it was nice to hear people in Canton want to support people who are queer. However, Crown said it might have been beneficial for the panel to get a teenager's perspective because queer adults and queer youth often have different experiences.

Moving forward, Crown hopes to have a role in the continuation of Canton's LGBTQ+ resources by helping to strengthen resources and opportunities for students at McKinley. In the same vein, Stark Pride is planning to hold its first Canton-based pride event June 11 at Centennial Plaza.

Reach Ryan via email at rmaxin@gannett.com, on Twitter at @ryanmaxin or by phone at 330-580-8412.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Akron PFLAG group hosts panel discussion on LGBTQ+ issues, interests.