An Invitation
This site arose from a simple Google search for “LGBTQ support Hamilton On”, that produced only a chaotic list of a few groups mixed with newspaper articles, names of projects or ventures now closed, and, quite naturally, no indication of the support to be had from institutions and websites further afield. We felt something had to be done.
The project began with a search for the items found here in “Resources/Law”, in the belief that the LGBTQ+ community should know its legal rights, and search for the material in the “Crisis” section. That was followed by inquires about local social and support groups, inquiries furthered by the generous contributions of many individuals. From there, we looked for local medical resources for the community and sought, through conversations with local ministers, pastors, and rabbis, to identify where there are religious communities supportive of our LGBTQ+ fellow-citizens. Simultaneously, consultation of the Hamilton Public Library catalogue produced a list of books, locally available, that might be of use to many. That category, “Resources/Readings”, was later expanded to give visitors, especially the young, a history of LGBTQ+ life in Canada and beyond – a history that on the world stage stretches back to Ancient times – and to direct attention to further publications (here regrettably few in number) that might be of assistance to youth, parents, friends, and community members themselves.
Expanding the readings-list and surveying what we had accumulated, we all had a vivid sense of the comparative scarcity of what was available locally and the lack of much other concrete information that we knew must be available on the web. Thus a long and arduous return there to identify many items in our “Support” and “Health” categories that come from reliable sites and institutions. We continue to add items as they come to our attention.
But this brief account is only a prelude to an invitation. For any one or any group that, in other places, finds the same Google search for their community produces results similar to ours, we invite you to DUPLICATE OUR EFFORT and BORROW anything from this site that would help, including the format. (We’d appreciate an acknowledgement, of course!) We are not large enough to offer technical help beyond saying ours is a wordpress site and relatively straight forward – for those who know! LEND A HAND!
– The Spectrum Hamilton Team
SPECTRUM HAMILTON 