COMMUNITY DRIVEN ACTION
ABOUT LGBTQ CONNECTION
LGBTQ Connection, an initiative drive by emerging leaders in the North San Francisco Bay Area, fosters a healthier, more vibrantly diverse, and inclusive community. Each year, LGBTQ Connection engages with more than 3,500 LGBTQ people, their families, and the community. They train 500 providers from local organizations across Northern California to increase the safety, visibility, and well being of LGBTQ residents. In Napa and Sonoma Counties the program operates local LGBTQ community centers, supporting underserved LGBTQ youth and elders. The Napa and Sonoma offices of LGBTQ Connection each provide a safe and trusted space to cultivate hubs of vibrant activities and caring community.
WHY WE SUPPORT LGBTQ CONNECTION
SPARC is proud to be a LGBTQ-owned organization. We have a long history in San Francisco and Sonoma, and we’re committed to giving back to our local communities that have given so much to us.
For years, cannabis and the LGBTQ community have had a close relationship, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area. As NORML Director Dale Gieringer said, “It’s sort of the same issue, freedom of bodily choice.”
In the 1990s, medical cannabis proved to be one of the only solutions to the HIV/AIDS crisis that plagued the LGBTQ community. Local advocates like Dennis Peron and Brownie Mary led the charge for legal medical cannabis. Their passion for getting medicine to patients by any means necessary laid the foundation for the legal cannabis industry we have today.
Those who were once considered the outcasts of society are now at the center of the conversation. Cannabis was illegal, now it’s essential. Being gay was something to hide, and now it’s something full of pride. There is still a lot of work to be done to create an equitable society, and—alongside LGBTQ Connection—we are happy to be a change agent in that process.