London-based organization hoping to 'reconnect' 2SLGBTQIA+ community

Why We March board members (L-R) Abbey Buist, program director, Andrew Moffit, board chair/financial director, and Dustin Boam, executive director, announce a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation on June 29, 2024. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

The London, Ont.-based group ‘Why We March’ (WWM) is using money from an Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) grant to “fill a void in the community.”

“We are trying to be inclusive space for 2SLGBTQIA+ people,” said Abbey Buist, program director at WWM. “Currently, London has no community centre for that community, so we are trying to, create that space.”

The organization – which has been around for just under a decade – announced Saturday that it received a grant of $11,100 from the OTF resiliency fund.

“It is to try to help us help our organization recover from the pandemic and become more resilient,” said Dustin Boam, executive director of WWM. “The money allows us to take that virtual step.”

The money has been used to purchase webcams and video conferencing equipment, which will allow their community hub to offer virtual programming and their board to meet online until they have a physical space to meet.

“We did a program called Community Conversations, where essentially we had a topic in the community through a survey, and they came in once a month, and we talked about like issues or things that we can do as a centre to help them,” said Buist.

They previously met in-person prior to the pandemic at Innovation Works, but costs rose, and the group decided to go virtual.

“We just want to reconnect and socialize,” said Boam. “That's really lacking after the pandemic and all communities, not just to us LGBTQ2S+ community.”

Eventually, the plan is to create the PRISM Community Hub within the next five years, although funding for their non-profit has been difficult to come by.

They describe the PRISM Community Hub as a place which will offer programs, services, and workshops designed to break isolation and overcome barriers.

“We applied for community funding through the city, but honestly, we did not get approved to open up,” said Boam. “There is a battle uphill, but it is a good battle to do. I think it is a good cause and it will really will help the community in the long run.”