A Space Just For Us: A New LGBTQ+ Support Group
Active since Sept. 5, a support group for LGBTQ+ students and residents in the Whittier area was launched by fourth-year Caitlin Rainey and Program Manager for the Center for Engagement with Communities Patricia Pint. The group meets every Tuesday from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Pint’s private practice in Whittier.
. Pint is a licensed therapist that has been working with the LGBTQ+ community for over 20 years. “I was the mental health provider for the city of Whittier’s only LGBTQ+ Center, which closed in 2015 due to lack of funding,” she said.
. Pint ran multiple support groups there, and ultimately wanted to run a group for those who identified within the queer community, but lacked the proper support from their families.
. “I found having the social support was most important since many people that identify as LGBTQ+ didn’t know other queer people or came from families that did not allow them to be ‘out’ and therefore lacked both primary and secondary support,” Pint said.
. Rainey, the founder of the group, worked with Pint through the Peer Health Educator Program. he came up with the idea for the group after learning that Pint had previously run an all-female support group.
. “I worked with Patricia Pint this summer through this Peer Health Educator program, and I met with her. So now we started an LGBTQ+ support group to bring people from campus and off-campus, and give them a new place to meet and talk to other people,” Rainey said.
. “We started advertising a couple weeks ago, and we had our first session on Sept. 5. We wanted to get the word out to the queer community on campus and see if anyone was interested in meeting other queer folk and discussing things that they’ve been through,” she added.
. Rainey’s goal is to create a network of young adults within the Whittier College community to talk and support one another. The group started off relatively small in members, but attendence. has been consistent each week.
. “We’re trying to create a network of young queer adults, so we have quite a few people coming now, which is nice,” Rainey added. “We mostly have conversations, but we also talk about resources in the area, and how we can support each other.”
. For Rainey, the importance of having a support group on campus is so those within the community can exist in one space, feel seen and heard, and be able to support each other through their meetings.
. “As a queer community, we need places where we can just exist and not have to explain ourselves to other people, just talk to each other and build that sense of community. It’s nice to have, especially close to our school,” Rainey said. “Meeting with others, whether that’s on- or off-campus. So that it’s not a hassle for the students who have recently graduated or have their own careers.”
. “The thing I love the most,” Pint said, “is feeling that I can provide a safe space — in order for those relationships to develop and flourish — even if it’s just a better relationship with oneself.”
. If you have the chance and are looking for a safe space to be yourself and meet other queer people, then be sure to stop by one of their meetings!
Photo Courtesy of The Boston Globe
