June is Pride Month in Canada and other countries around the world and everyone at Nellie’s is excited to celebrate!  The Pride Movement officially began in 1970 when activist groups marched in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago, using terms like “Gay Liberation” and “Gay Freedom” on the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots. Forty two years later,  we continue to march each year on the last weekend in June, in support of LGBTTIQQ2SA equality, because even though there have been great achievements for equality, there is still much to be done.

As Pride Week 2012 begins, we have some good news to celebrate in Ontario.  Yesterday, June 5th, the Ontario Government passed the Accepting Schools Act, an anti-bullying law that says schools cannot ban students from calling their clubs Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs).  Previous to the bill’s passing, some publicly funded Catholic schools told students they could have anti-bullying clubs but they could not use the word, “gay” in the name of the club. According to Xtra, Education Minister Laurel Broten said to the Ontario legislature, “We know the power of words to create fear and pain and to spread hatred, homophobia, sexism and racism, and we know that if we can’t name it, we can’t address it.” The bill passed with a vote of 65 to 36 and all schools in Ontario must comply.  We are happy to see this step towards equality for LGBT youth across the province.

The theme of Toronto Pride this year is “Celebrate and Demonstrate.”  This month we will be featuring a series of Pride-themed blogs written by members of our Social Justice Committee, which will demonstrate both personal and political viewpoints.   The women and children at Nellie’s will be celebrating with Pride-themed activities at our Shelter and Outreach programs and will also have the opportunity to take part in the Dyke March and Pride Parade.  Happy Pride Month everyone!  We can’t wait to celebrate with you.