Next Door Welcomes Pride Alliance
The Columbia Gorge Pride Alliance, once a standalone organization, is now a program of The Next Door.
Since the first Pride parade in Hood River in 2017, the Pride Alliance has provided space for the LGBTQIA2S+ community in the Gorge. Through youth outreach, community partnerships, educational opportunities, networking events and more, it aims to celebrate LGBTQIA2S+ communities throughout the Gorge.
Recent legislative actions taken across the country to target already vulnerable youth who identify as LGBTQIA2S+ have created fear and anxiety even at the local level. Together with its new parent organization, the Pride Alliance aims to help LGBTQIA2S+ community members in the Gorge, particularly its youth, feel safe and supported.
Funders have already begun to back these efforts. In addition to a grant from the Oregon Alliance to Prevent Suicide, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) recently awarded the program a $188,000 multi-year grant with the primary purpose of reconvening an LGBTQIA2S+ leadership group with youth ages 15 to 20. The group, initially convened in early 2020, has been on hiatus since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The youth taking part in this project provide direction to staff for community-facilitated workshops. These learning opportunities support the development of various leadership and advocacy skills. Ultimately, the group will conduct a community strengths and needs assessment with local LGBTQIA2S+ community members to better inform the work moving forward.
"With the support of The Next Door, OHA, and community members throughout the Gorge, the Pride Alliance finally gets to bring its original vision to fruition. We have worked hard to move from a once-a-year Pride event organization to an actual resource for our community,” says Nik Portela, Program Manager. “This is only the beginning and, much like most change, our youth will lead the way. To the LGBTQIA2S+ folks in the Gorge – we hear you, we see you, and we will strive every day to make our beautiful community one that is safe for us all to be out and proud.”
The Next Door, a Gorge-based human services nonprofit founded in 1971, offers 35 programs that serve children, teens, families, and more. The Columbia Gorge Pride Alliance aligns with the organization’s vision of a supportive community where all are safe, healthy, and valued.
For more information about The Next Door, the Columbia Gorge Pride Alliance, or any of the programs The Next Door offers, visit nextdoorinc.org.
