For over 150 years Temple Anshe Hesed has been Erie's Reform synagogue - a place where Judaism is celebrated and lived. Temple Anshe Hesed celebrated 150 years of Jewish community on the beautiful shores of Lake Erie in 2025. Our Temple's name, Anshe Hesed, is Hebrew for "People of Loving-Kindness." This name perfectly encapsulates the Temple's acceptance and welcoming of the LGBTQ+ community. Many members of Temple Anshe Hesed are part of the LGBTQ+ community, and the Temple joyfully takes part in Pride celebrations every June. Temple member Kris Haas explains, "When we came to Temple, very early on Rabbi [Morais] told [my wife and I] that we were far from the first lesbian coupleand that was a huge thing for me. Knowing that there were others and that I wouldn't have to hide the most important person in my life for fear of being ostracized."

Part of our broader regional community, just a bit farther south, a newer organization is stepping up in powerful ways for queer residents. In a county where access to affirming resources can be limited, the New Castle Prism Initiative is working to ensure LGBTQIA+ people and other marginalized community members are seen, supported, and celebrated.

In the heart of Erie County, a quiet but powerful force has been working for over five decades to support survivors of crime: the Crime Victim Center (CVC). Founded in 1973 by Joan Martin, the agency began as the Erie County Rape Crisis Center after Martin's family member survived a sexual assault. With no services available at the time, Martin set out to build the support network her family needed but could not find.

Since its founding in 1984 by David and Joanne Cooper, Don and Carol Shaper, and Jim and Jeanne Hughes, NAMI of Erie County has worked to create a compassionate, nonjudgmental environment for individuals and families affected by mental illness. What began as a grassroots effort to offer empathy and understanding has grown into a full-fledged countywide resource hub dedicated to support, education, and advocacy.

Since the earliest days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Erie County has been directly impacted. The first local case was reported in December 1986, and by then, those diagnosed nationwide were surviving an average of just 15 months. Over the years, a number of support and advocacy groups have worked to raise awareness, support those living with HIV, and fight stigma. Out of this history, the Erie County HIV Task Force was formed in 2014 to carry that work forward. The group brings together HIV testing and treatment providers, volunteers, and advocates to increase awareness of HIV, its treatment, and prevention.

Founded in 2024 by Cypher Eihwaz, OddCity Entertainment was born from a deep love of underground music, immersive experiences, and inclusive spaces. What started as a few house shows with friends quickly grew into a community-focused production company redefining the live event scene in Erie, PA.

VisitErie, Erie County's official destination marketing organization, recently introduced a fresh new brand and tagline: "Good Life. Great Lake." But this change is more than just visual. It's a reflection of a deeper mission to celebrate all the things that make Erie a vibrant, welcoming, and inclusive place to live and visit.

ASCEND Erie opened in 2023 and is one of three locations owned by ASCEND, which was founded in Pittsburgh. ASCEND gyms take a holistic approach to fitness, promoting climbing alongside a full yoga schedule and a fitness area. The indoor climbing gym is the first of its kind in Erie, offering Erieites access to bouldering (climbing without a harness on shorter walls), auto-belays, top roping, and sport climbing (climbing with ropes on walls as tall as 52 feet). In addition, the gym provides a "third space" for folks from every area and background within the county. It costs nothing to show up and exist in this space.

Erie Trans Picnics is a loose organization of trans and nonbinary people in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Our goal is to create a stronger trans community and build our own care networks that we can rely on as the political and social landscapes become increasingly hostile. We believe that the atom of queer family is and always has been friendship, and that community is formed through direct connection with other individuals. The picnics are as much about building a larger network of queers as they are an opportunity to experience and spread trans joy in a time when sorrow is abundant.

On the first and third Sunday of the month, you can find a group of fun, active, senior members of the LGBTQ+ community gathering as Aging With Pride plannnig social activities, outings and events, savoring delicious refreshments, and laughing and enjoying each other's company. Aging With Pride is an organization that was first formed in 2017 but had its rebirth after COVID in 2022. The group was founded by Dale Allgeier after he had become aware of the need for older LGBTQ+ community members to have a forum to connect, and plan and host social, recreational and educational activities and events.

Free Mom Hugs was founded by Sara Cunningham in 2015 after her son came out to her as gay. Remembering that she too was once in the crowd that rejected the LGBTQIA+ community, Sara showed up to a Pride Festival wearing a homemade Free Mom Hugs button and offered hugs to anyone who made eye contact. Today, Free Mom Hugs has chapters in all 50 states and other initiatives forming globally. The Pennsylvania chapter aims to cover all areas in the commonwealth, and Erie's very active local group is working to expand its reach.

On June 20, 2011, David Moore was watching live coverage on C-Span of the New York state legislature voting to enact marriage equality for same-sex couples. He was so moved that he formed a group of like-minded people on Facebook and called it Gay Marriage for Pennsylvania. When enough people in the group expressed to him that the name overlooked far too many people in the LGBTQIA2S+ community, he changed the name to Marriage Equality for Pennsylvania (ME4PA). In 2012, Joshua Szczesny joined ME4PA; together, David and Josh built the organization into a small nonprofit. However, by August 2014, with marriage equality already law in Pennsylvania, he changed the name to Pennsylvania Equality Project (PEP). The organization he founded now focuses on surveys related to housing, discrimination, bullying, and mental health. PEP also offers the Meadville FreeShop, held two or three times per year at the Meadville Public Library.

Ashtabula Pride Inc. was founded in July 2023 by Michael S. Riffe (Mona Lotz drag performer) of Ashtabula, OH, and Rebekah Beeman of Conneaut, OH. Before becoming a nonprofit corporation of its own, Ashtabula Pride was formerly known as Pride Ashtabula County, which was Ashtabula County's pride festival under the LGBTQ+ Coalition of Ashtabula County, Inc. Riffe, along with Bill Daywalt, AJ Petro, and John Werner brought the county's first festival in 2021 which welcomed over 3,000 attendees to the festival. Due to the amount of work and planning involved, the Coalition's board decided it would be best to relinquish the festival's ownership and turn it over to Riffe and Beeman to create a new and self-sustainable organization. The two formed a board of directors and an advisory board and began planning the first annual Drag in the New Year, which will be held Dec 31, 2023, at the Conneaut Human Resource Center in Conneaut, OH. The event will include dinner provided by Wade's Pastabilities, raffles, a cash bar, a DJ with Dancing, and a drag show hosted by Mona Lotz. The festival will be held on the 3rd Saturday in June from 11 am-9 pm on Bridge Street in the historic Ashtabula Harbor with vendors, food, and entertainment. To get tickets for New Year's Eve or to become a part of the festival, see the organization's website www.ashtabulapride.org.

The Erie County HIV Task Force is a collaboration of local organizations and individuals dedicated to educating, supporting, and advocating for people living with HIV/AIDS and preventing the spread of infection in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Formed in 2014 by Laura Beckes and Sylvia Holland at the Erie County Health Department, the group has been bringing together Erie County volunteers to increase the awareness of HIV, its treatment, and prevention for our residents. Groups involved have included Adagio Health, Central Outreach Wellness Center Erie, Community Health Net, Edinboro University, Erie Gay News, Erie VA Medical Center, Greater Erie Alliance for Equality, Guadenzia, LECOM, MidAtlantic AIDS Education Training Center, NWPA Medical Reserve Core, NWPA Pride Alliance, PA Thrive Partnership, SafeNet, TransFamily, UPMC Hamot, and Urban Ministries.

Edinboro Identity was founded over 40 years ago as a safe haven for LGBT+ students and their allies. Though it has undergone several name changes, Identity stands proud as one of the oldest clubs on Edinboro's campus. Today, our primary mission has not changed since the club's founding and has expanded to cover LGBT+ history and create a relaxing environment for our members to be who they are. While our education meetings are crucial, we also enjoy the meetings where we watch movies, play games, and generally bond while doing a fun activity. We have a yearly Halloween party, aptly dubbed 'Halloqueen,' for students to dress how they want without societal judgment and gender norms. This past spring, we collaborated with the GASE club of Penn State Behrend and Mercyhurst's SAGA club for a clothing drive, the efforts of which were donated to Compton's Table in Erie. The officers of Identity are considering putting on a drag show open to everyone in the spring as a fun way to bring flair to campus. While Identity is a club reserved for Edinboro students, we are always open to guest speakers who want to present their knowledge to our members. The best way to get in contact with us is through our Instagram, which is @identityboro. There, we post about LGBT+ recognition days and a great way to see what Identity is doing during the school year.

Compton's Table, with its mission to foster a sustainable and affirming environment, has swiftly become a beacon of hope and community for queer youth and young adults in Erie County. Compton's Table was founded in response to the deeply concerning rates of suicide among queer youth in the United States, spurring founder and queer rights advocate, Dr. Tyler Titus, into action.

The LGBT Funds of the Erie Community Foundation strive to address the challenges that LGBTQ+ individuals in Erie County face every day. With a generous gift in 2014, the Greater Erie Alliance for Equality helped to establish the LGBT Funds of The Erie Community Foundation. Today, the Funds are led by a volunteer advisory board and various committees and aim to provide financial support to nonprofits in the Erie area that address strive to create a positive, thriving environment for LGBTQ+ individuals.

What began as Erie Gay Pride. Inc in 2006 evolved in 2011 to become the Greater Erie Alliance for Equality. Under the leadership of Bob Howden and Patrick Smith, with the new name came a new focus as well.

In 2010, several factors led to the creation of the Pride Planning Committee, which would become the NW PA Pride Alliance. Erie Gay Pride Inc, which had been the organizer of the local Pride from 2006 to 2009, reorganized as the Greater Erie Alliance for Equality and changed its focus. With there not being a Pride Fest for 2010, a group of volunteers got together on January 16, 2011, at the Plymouth Tavern to begin planning events for that year.

Trigon, as it was originally called, was founded around 1992 by Dan Ester, a student at Behrend. In 2017, the name was changed to GASE (The Gender and Sexuality Equality Club). The mission remained the same to provide a safe space for exploration and expression of one's gender and sexuality without judgment and to foster a healthy environment on campus for all people of all genders and sexualities.

LBT Women of Erie is a social and support group for lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women. It was started in hopes of being a safe place for the LBT community to get together, make new friends and socialize in a safe environment.

TransFamily of NW PA was founded in 2012 by Caitlyn Strohmeyer as a support group for transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals in Erie and the surrounding area. Group meetings are held every fourth Saturday at the Crime Victim Center, 125 W 18th St Erie, PA, from 2 - 5 pm.

Bears Do Dinner is a local social group in Erie, PA, that started almost ten years ago, in July 2013. Each month, a restaurant is selected and announced in our Facebook Group "Bears Do Dinner - Erie, PA." https://www.facebook.com/groups/1475863226069226 . Individuals are on their own to join us for dinner. Everyone can enjoy the company of other bears and their friends, as well as the cuisine of that month's restaurant!

Erie Gay News (originally known as Erie Gay Community Newsletter) is celebrating our 30th anniversary in December, 2022! Originally known as Erie Gay Community Newsletter, it was a project from Bridges, an LGBTQ coalition early 90's. After a dance/fundraiser held at the Unitarian-Universalist Congregation of Erie earlier in the year, the organization saw the need for a local LGBTQIA+-focused publication to inform the community about local events and resources, as well as the upcoming 1993 March on Washington. There had been an explosion of local groups in the early 90's.