Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/804156
C E L E B R A T I N G Y E A R S 16 March 30 • 2017 jn jews d in the community wanted. We took all the information we got from the focus group and, from there, we started to develop a NEXTGen Detroit Pride committee of people who could share and contribute ideas and help us get the word out. We had our official launch event in May 2016; it was a happy hour at Pronto in Royal Oak. And a month later, we had a game night at M-Brew in Ferndale. Shortly after, we went to Painting with a Twist. Every event brings in new faces and, slowly but surely, we are growing a real community. After the past presidential elec- tion, there were a lot of nervous people — nervous Jews and ner- vous LGBTQ people. We didn't want to wait for the next planned event to get this community together, so we "mobilized" as they say. On Nov. 18, we held a forum for people to express their thoughts, reflect, share and just be together and be a family. Rabbi Alana Alpert from Congregation T'chiya, Jay Kaplan from the ACLU and Jeremy Moss, State Rep. from the 35th District, spoke, and we engaged in a larger group discus- sion. It was a really supportive atmosphere and also a spiritual atmosphere. People were moved, a lot of teary eyes. And I think the night was really in line with our vision of creating something more than just events on a calendar. We were a group of people who wanted to talk, needed to talk about this, not on Facebook, but with real face-to-face dialogue. And we did. The goal of NEXTGen Detroit Pride is really two-fold. The first goal is to create an atmosphere where people feel comfortable com- ing out. I think about it from the standpoint of people who may be in the closet — they now have a place in the community to turn to. The second part is to create an continued from page 14 continued on page 18 FAVORITES Place to eat out: for everyday, Public House Place to meet for coffee: Great Lakes Coffee in Bloomfield Hills Never leave the house without a: notebook Spirit animal: sea lion Words to live by: "Anything can happen if you let it." — Mary Poppins Favorite Jewish holiday: Rosh Hashanah Current TV show addiction: Transparent Vacation destination: St. Maarten Favorite movie quote: "The past can hurt, but you can either run from it, or learn from it." — The Lion King This story first appeared on myjewishdetroit.org.