As Pride Month comes to a close, group reiterates commitment to fostering inclusion

By Rob Paul

As June comes to an end, so too does Pride Month, but that doesn't mean the efforts of the leaders in the community to make Caledon a better place for all stops.

In fact, with the emergence of Caledon Pride as a key fixture in the community, they hope to continue to partner with the Town and other leaders to further raise awareness and make a difference.

Mayor Allan Thompson was a part of the Pride flag raising at Town Hall to kick the month off and says he's been impressed with the work Caledon Pride has done this month. 

“It's important that we support the work and efforts of organizations like Caledon Pride because that is what community is all about,” said Thompson. “Caledon Pride has done a great job in creating partnerships and in sharing their message of hope and inclusion and I will continue to support them in any way I can.”

Youth Activist Inc. is a non-profit organization in Caledon focused on youth-related issues and has partnered with Caledon Pride to help the advocacy group provide an inclusive atmosphere in the community while continuing to education on 2SLGBTQ+ matters.

“Youth Activists Inc. is especially proud to have helped organize this flag raising for the future of our community,” said Dmytro Basmat, Executive Director of Youth Activist Inc. “As Caledon's diversity continues to flourish, we need to continue to build a more inclusive community for all. This Pride flag raising is a symbol for change, and we must continue to take action to move our community forward and to make our community better for everyone. That starts with celebrating and embracing Pride.”

Julia Bertola, founder of Caledon Pride, spent the month helping other organizations run Pride-specific programming and promoting the importance of the 2SLGBTQ+ community in Caledon.

Although the pandemic has made it difficult to engage the community for Pride like a normal year, she has seen support throughout Caledon.

“I think there's been some success in our Pride programming so far, but it's hard to say,” she said. “We put a lot of care and thought behind each of our programs and events, and we believe that the community can sense that. But at the same time, we don't get a lot of feedback, so we're always looking to try something new to engage the Caledon community. Without community members telling us what they would like to see, we just have to try different things and see what sticks.

“I think the most popular initiatives have been related to visual signs of Pride, like our flag raising at both Town Hall and Downtown Bolton, the latter being super meaningful to me as I grew up in Bolton. We also had some amazing community members create lawn signs with the Pride flag on it and so many people have been excited to put them in front of their homes.”

This year was tough for Caledon Pride with COVID-19 restrictions stopping any gathering, which has made it harder to get the whole community involved.

Going fully online has be a challenge. 

“I would say the biggest issue is engagement. Sadly because of COVID, people aren't interacting the same way they did, and online events aren't working as well as I'd hoped,” said Bertola. “But at the same time, the struggles are still the same with the 2SLGBTQ+ community in Caledon who are feeling socially isolated and are suffering without strong community bonds. Online events don't feel as real as meeting and hanging out in person, and if you're struggling with mental illness or just straight up fatigue, then you're not going to want to attend another online event.

“That's not to say web-based events haven't worked at all, we had such a fun time with

our Gaymes Night event where we teamed up with Eclypse Youth and used Zoom to play

some games from ‘Jackbox.' It was a lot of fun, and we had a lot of folks come out, but I still get messages of people who didn't attend the event asking for something to do because they're lonely. So, either they didn't know about the event, or it just wasn't something they wanted to attend.”

It hasn't been easy with COVID, but Bertola is still proud of the work they've been able to do for the 2SLGBTQ+ community through their annual fundraiser and as the month wraps up, they're hoping to send it off with a bang through a panel where local 2SLGBTQ+ community members will talk about their experiences and can be a guiding voice for the youth.

“All month long we have been promoting our second Annual Peel Pride Fundraiser, which has been accepting donations on behalf of LGBT Youthline. LGBT Youthline is an amazing service that Caledon residents can access through phone or text to seek support on a variety of different topics.

“We also have one last event with Eclypse Youth, an online panel discussion event where folks will have the opportunity to listen to guest speakers talk about living in Peel Region as a 2SLGBTQ+ youth navigating relationships and services. And lastly, the Caledon Public Library is still promoting an awesome webpage they created with tons of 2SLGBTQ+ book recommendations, which we hope community members will take advantage of even beyond June, and hopefully find some good summer reads.”

Something Bertola has made a priority for Caledon Pride is working with other solidified groups in the community to help with programs and initiatives and it's been a big success in her eyes.

“We have had such a great experience working with other groups and organizations this year to bring Pride programming to Caledon,” she said. “The people working within organizations we've partnered with have been so kind and were more than happy to work with us, and this year wouldn't have been possible without them. It's a weird time with COVID and I know that people are struggling day-to-day, so to be met with such enthusiasm from our community partners has been really energizing for us to keep Caledon Pride going.”

As Pride Month comes to an end, Bertola is excited to see what the future holds for Caledon Pride as they continue their work in the community and try to connect youth to programs and educate organizations on issues.

“If there's going to be any meaning to the work I'm doing with Caledon Pride, 2SLGBTQ+ events, campaigns, initiatives ideally would be continuous throughout the year,” she said. “The best part is that our community partners are 100 per cent with us. That's why we'll be using the strong relationships that we've built in the past weeks to keep things going. I don't know what it will look like, but we're hoping to bring more programs and services to Caledon. Caledon Pride is more than happy to work with different groups throughout the Region of Peel, and to help out however we can.”