Dreams of Hope at Butler County Community College on Nov 1

by Mitch

The creative and performing arts group "Dreams of Hope" will be performing their first performance in Butler County, Pennsylvania at the Butler County Community College on November 1st beginning at 6:30pm in the Succop Theater.

The group will be presenting the season finale of their original program titled, "Being In, Being Out." This program is about the struggles of LGBTQA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, and allied) youth and the coming out process. Their message is one based on belonging with a message of acceptance and equality.

The show will feature skits, music, and other various forms of expression. After the group completes their performance, there will be a time of Q&A where the audience can ask questions. Ted Hoover of Persad Center describes this aspect as important.

"This (Question and Answer) period is where the education happens. A person can learn a lot about themselves and the youth by listening to what they have to say," said Hoover.

Dreams of Hope is the region's foremost leader in being Pittsburgh's only arts-focused LGBTQA youth (13-21) organization. The group was founded in 2003 by Susan Haugh, the current Artistic Director for Dreams of Hope. Since its creation, the group has performed at various locations across the country. One exciting performance was done in October of 2012 where they were guest performers for LGBT History Month at the United States Department of Education, performing for the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan!

Their mission is: "Through the arts, Dreams of Hope develops lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied youth leaders who promote social change by educating audiences."

The group is funded by The Heinz Endowment, Direct Energy, the MUKTI Fund, The John J. McDonnell Margaret T. O'Brien Foundation, and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. For more information about Dreams of Hope and this event, please visit the organization's website at: http://www.dreamsofhope.org/.

This presentation of Dreams of Hope is being brought to the Butler County community by Butler County Community College's Campus Safe-Zone program. Safe-Zone is a program designed to improve visibility and support for LGBTQA students and employees. Each program member has a placard placed in his/hers office showcasing that they are a member. These members have undergone training specifically for LGBTQA related knowledge and issues. The emphasis is that they are trained listeners, not therapists; however, they can provide assistance, including referrals to outside organizations/programs. For more information on the Safe-Zone program or Butler County Community College, please visit their website at: http://www.BC3.edu.

Prior to, during, and after the event, there will be booths set up for various community organizations that support LGBTQA causes. Some of these include PFLAG Butler County (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), The Butler County LGBTQ Interfaith Network, Persad Center, VOICe (Victim Outreach Intervention Center), Slippery Rock University's RockOUT, and BC3's Safe-Zone program.

This event is free and open to the public. It is being presented at Butler County Community College's Succop Theater. The address for this event is 107 College Drive, Butler, PA, 16001. For more information please contact Morgan Rizzardi at Morgan.Rizzardi@BC3.edu or 724-287-8711 ext. 8274 or Mitchell Hortert at mrhortert@gmail.com.