PRIDE: Community Support for 2SLGBTQ+

“…creating the safe space that the 2SLGBTQ+ community needs.” 

By Melanie Tremills  

Image from the Halton Pride parade

I am the founder of PRISM Halton, and we’ve just changed our name to Pride Halton because we’re known for doing - the Pride events. It was getting confusing for people to understand we had the two entities. 

The reason I started Prism was because I saw the need in schools. It was originally for youth. I came out very late in my life—about 11 or 12 years ago—I never had any gay culture or community around me and I don’t want people to have to go through that and struggle with the feeling of being who they are. 

I work in the Catholic school board, and that’s a whole different ball game. I’m very open about who I am, and I work on a board-wide committee to help ensure that schools are safe places, as much as we can make them. 

I love the fact that we have made a massive impact in Halton and that the 2SLGBTQ+ community now know that there is a community here for them. We still have people coming up to us saying, “We didn’t even know there was a community out there for us.” That visibility is everything. 

PRISM Halton managed to get the first pride flag raising in Milton. That got the ball rolling for the community to realize that there was a community there for them. It started with maybe 10 or 15 people turning up, and now we sometimes have up to 100 people just to see the flag raising itself. 

The momentum right now is incredible. Last year we took over the fairgrounds in Milton and had Pride in the Park. We had about 1,700 people turn up, around 60 vendors, and live music on stage. 

The parade keeps getting bigger, but the spectators are really important to me. Visibility for people walking in the parade and seeing support on the sidelines confirms that people are there for them. 

We want to be able to gain consistent funding to enable us to pour even more of our time into crafting and creating the consistent space that is so needed by all of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. I’d love for Pride Halton to have a place—a centre where the community knows they can go if they need anything, I want us to be the group they come to. 

We run entirely as a volunteer organization, so what we need most is volunteers—not just for Pride, but all year long. I love having people come to meetings and bring their perspective. 

We also need funding and support from local councillors, MPs, MPPs, and Halton’s towns. We would have a physical space available for the 2SLGBTQ+ community, strong leadership, consistent programming, and a place where people know they can be their authentic selves. 

Story curated by Phillip McAllister 

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This post is part of a larger CDH Member Story Project. The intent is to share the depth of our non-profit sector, name how community can support and imagine together what is possible through the non-profit sector to ensure Halton is a health, inclusive and resilient place to live. 

Are you a CDH member and want to let your story to the project. You can get started HERE.