Mayor's LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council Meeting on August 6

The Mayor's LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council held their quarterly meeting via Zoom on Thursday, August 6. It was the consensus that creating agendas for upcoming meetings would be by a committee of a facilitator, a note taker, and the heads of the action teams. The current action teams are Health Care; Aging; Youth; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Marketing; and Education/Policy. Although action team leads should be advisory council members, participation on action teams are open to members of the community.

There was an update on the City of Erie's Municipal Equality Index (MEI) score with the Human Rights Campaign. There was also an update on efforts to raise the response rate for the 2020 US Census, which had its deadline moved up to September 20, 2020. The City of Erie is sponsoring giveaways to improve the response rate. Erie could lose up to a billion dollars in Federal funding over the course of the next decade if the return rate is low. The City of Erie is also working with United Clergy of Erie and the Minority Community Investment Coalition, as well as other community partners to limit the spread of COVID-19.

There was also an update about the previous PA Commission on LGBTQ+ Affairs meeting. Erie County Department of Health was recognized at the state level for being one of the first PA regional health departments to provide sexual health guidance that reflected the needs and concerns of the LGBTQ community during COVID-19.

Tammie Johnson, head of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion action team reported that she and Leroy Oglesby are now serving on the Strengthening Police and Community Partnership (SPCP) Council, and also participated in a mask giveaway thanks to UPMC Foundation. They also participated in an ice cream social with the Erie Police Department. The action team is also working on an RFP to have a policy to mandate all city contractors have an anti-discrimination policy. The City of Erie will also be sending out job openings with hopes of more LGBTQ+ applicants.

Currently, the next Mayors LGBTQIA+ Advisory Council meeting will be in early November.