LEXINGTON, Ky. — Lexington has received the best equality score in Kentucky — receiving a perfect score of 106. The score is based on how inclusive municipal laws, policies, and services are for LGBTQ communities.
Everyday is a busy day for Carmen Wampler-Collins. That is because she is the executive director of the Pride Community Services Organization in Lexington (PCSO). She had the honor of helping Lexington's city leaders achieve a perfect equality score. The score is the highest throughout the entire state for people a part of the LGBTQIA community.
“We were very excited to be included in the Mayor’s task force and I think the change in the score represents the hard work of a lot of people. Not just in the Mayor’s office but throughout the community, LGBTQIA groups, not just us but other groups in the community who have been working for years to bring more equality to the area.”
Downtown Lexington is full of reminders of how the city is doing its part to uplift and support people in the LGBTQIA community. From the infamous rainbow pride sidewalk to door signs. This inclusivity cannot erase the fact that Commonwealth was one of the last states in America to legalize same-sex marriage in June 2015. For Wampler-Collins that means there is more work to be done.
“We do not just care about the number, we want to make sure actual changes are happening. So we did bring up where there were issues and have addressed some of those in the community. So it was a great chance to work with people from the city to get some things done,” said Wampler-Collins.
Wampler-Collins says exclusion still happens in work places, schools and jobs for people who are a part of the LGBTQIA community. Wampler-Collins and her wife chose to move to Lexington because of the family group at PCSO and knows first hand the value of the organization. She relates to people who need what she once needed.
“Our number one goal really is to make people feel welcomed when they walk into the center, when they approach us, to feel safe and you know lots of other people have no other people where they belong, or they may feel scared to fully be themselves anywhere else,” said Wampler-Collins.
PCSO is known as a hub for resources for people in the LGBTQIA community. The center has everything from discussion groups, a free food market, a pride library with dozens of selections, a computer and simply people to talk to about their identity. Burley Thomas serves as the Office Manager of PCSO and knows from his personal experience how tough conversations about one's identity can be. He got involved with PCSO as an activist for same-sex marriage to be legal in the Commonwealth and now serves his community everyday.
“When people come to us with those needs, we are able to recognize that need, we are able to facilitate that need and where we cannot we try to find what is missing, like what organization needs to exist? What national organization needs to be a part of this conversation?, said Thomas.
Thomas knows just like Wampler-Collins the perfect equality score is a step in the right direction, they have got to keep working until every member of their community is not excluded.
“We have got to make sure that those numbers continue to translate in our community to fair working spaces, fair housing, food security for folks in the LGBTQIA. So we still have a lot of work to do, we are really excited about the progress but it does not mean we can rest on our laurels,” said Wampler-Collins.
Wampler-Collins has a little time for celebration but no time for rest, she says PCSO is working on expanding the center, rebranding and more resources that are expected to be announced in the near future.