OutCenter Of Southwest Michigan To Reopen

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The OutCenter in Benton Harbor is reopening its doors after following hybrid programming for more than a year due to COVID-19. The OutCenter has released the following:

After closing its doors for 17 months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the OutCenter is reopening and turning to a hybrid programming model, where it will continue to offer virtual services and add in-person services at its Benton Harbor office at 132 Water Street. 

The LGBTQ+ community center will open its doors on August 16. The move is a meaningful one for MaryJo Schnell, the OutCenter’s executive director. 

“This means re-opening the only community center of its kind in our tri-county area,” Schnell said. “It means people who have been alone and isolated can now safely come together in support and in healing. Please know we’ve prepped the site with protocols and supplies to keep everyone safe.” 

The OutCenter will also continue to offer a large diversity of virtual programs available through its partnership with The Network of LGBTQ+ Centers in Michigan. 

Shortly after the OutCenter closed its doors, the community center teamed up with other LGBTQ+ community centers around the state to share virtual programs between the centers. 

“This was incredibly important for smaller centers like the OutCenter that operate in a mostly resource-poor area,” Schnell said. “We actually increased access to programs by 225 percent, offering a much more diverse menu of programs without having to hire additional staff — activities we wouldn’t have been able to fund.” 

Schnell said that, while the OutCenter has been closed, they have seen great impacts in a number of areas, such as increased engagement with the LGBTQ+ Brave Schools Collaborative and the LGBTQ+ Medicaid Expansion Project. 

But the OutCenter and other centers around the state have seen a decline in overall participation online, Schnell said. “Conversations with area schools echoed this fact in terms of student engagement, along with an increase in the need for mental health support for students. We feel being in person again will result in an uptick in engagement, to be sure.” 

Schnell said that, personally, she’s very excited to be reopening the center. “I miss so many people and miss the in-person interactions with youth, parents, school staff, donors and just folks stopping by to say hello. So many people who stop by are folks who grew up in the area and have come back to visit and they’re surprised to find out about the OutCenter and the work we are doing to create a more inclusive, equitable and vibrant Southwest Michigan.” 

Moving forward, the OutCenter will continue to develop its programs like the Host Homes program, which connects homeless LGBTQ+ youth with places to stay in the homes of local volunteers, and the LGBTQ+ Elder Brave Spaces project, which trains nursing home staff on how to care for LGBTQ+ seniors.   

“This is also the time of year when we step back and take a deep breath after Pride Month and Lake Effect Pride before setting our sights on Holiday Pride, typically a concert performed in person the weekend before Thanksgiving as LGBTQ+ people return to family homes to celebrate,” Schnell said. “It’s our way of saying that, no matter the reception they may receive at home, they are all welcome into an intimate, affirming celebration.” 

The OutCenter is continuing to look for volunteer families to participate in their Host Homes program. Anyone interested should fill out this form.