LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Gay Women's Support Group Joins Community Center Project |
by Dan Goren |
A wonderful support group for gay women has been in existence in the Rehoboth area since February of this year, and it is aptly named "The Gay Women's Support Group". Wonderful because their focus so epitomizes the mission of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center. A place which creates and nurtures a focal point for connecting people, activities and resourcesembracing diversity as an essential component. The group is so wonderful because they actually embrace diversity not just talk about it. This was evident when the group recently extended an invitation to me to speak at their meeting about the Community Center Project. I have never before attended a Gay Women's group. In preparing for the meeting, however, I was feeling confident about being there because I possess 50% of the group's membership requirements. (Of course, if anyone were to have questioned which 50%, I would have been very upset!) We had a discussion about the progress being made in the early stages of building a Community Center and the need to create new programs now, while plans are being developed and implemented to make the vision a reality. The Heart of the Communitya vision that calls for the creation of a Center that is a safe haven for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. Recently, a support group for gay men, "The Retreat" was launched and research has begun to establish a much-needed gay and lesbian youth support network. Programs for women were identified early on in the planning process as being critical to the success of a Community Center that is to be a home for all. Having the established "Gay Women's Support Group" become an initiative of the Community Center Project immediately fulfills an important need and adds tremendous value and quality to the Project's programs. The CAMP Community Center Project sponsors and supports the mission of the Women's Support Group by promoting its goals and reaching out to women in the community. The Community Center Project and The Gay Women's Support Group provide opportunities for women to connect with each other for meaningful discussions that are of importance to them. Such opportunities do not always exist in many of the communities throughout the State, and this group has created a supportive environment to explore critical aspects of gay women's lives. Subjects range from coming out, to relationship concerns and breaking up, as well as isolation, socialization and legal issues. At times, guest speakers are invited to meet with the group to review a particular topic, such as estate planning. And on the socialization front, the group has been focusing on a variety of activities outside the weekly meetings, ranging all the way from softball to hiking, and from bird watching to the art of beach sitting! I believe as more women become aware of the focus of the Community Center Project and "The Gay Women's Support Group" they will want to join and become part of this very welcoming environmentan environment that is open and receptive to new ideas and one that welcomes diversity. "The Gay Women's Support Group" meets Thursdays from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Sand In My Shoes B&B, Sixth and Canal in Rehoboth. The group facilitator is Libby Stiff, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), who earned her degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work. She has more than 35 years of clinical social work experience and is an Associate with Mental Health Access in Lewes. For information on the Women's Group, call 302-227-7656. Dan Goren is the co-chair of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Project. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 10, No. 10, July 28, 2000. |