BCCS participated
in the Delaware Pride Festival on September 8, which was located at the
Diamond State Park in New Castle, Delaware.
BCCS staff had a table to highlight the numerous services for
addiction and mental health that are available to the GLBTQ
community.
Pride Festivals have
been traditionally both a place to celebrate and to provide support for
those of the GLBTQ community. GLBTQ Pride Festivals are now in all 50 states,
and are also celebrated globally in many places including Europe, Russia,
China, India, Africa and Asia. Pride
festivals are a celebration for not only the GLBTQ Community, but the
community on a whole. The word pride speaks of the feeling of self
worth, connectedness, and dignity that festival such as this embrace.
During the festival,
an older gentleman came over to the BCCS table. He introduced himself and said, "I'm 64
and I just came out. This is my first
Pride Festival. I’ve struggled
with depression my entire life and I’m slightly depressed currently. I
just want to meet others in a similar situation to me.” After we spoke for a bit, I directed him to
services that BCCS offered that could help him overcome his depression and find
a network of people with similar struggles.
After my interaction with
him, I sat down and reflected on his comments and our interaction. I realized
that the power of BCCS isn’t just the services that we offer, but it’s our openness
to people and our non-judgmental approach, our interest in listening to others’
issues, and our willingness to genuinely want to connect people to care and
help them.
Daniel Norvell, ICADC, ICCDP
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