Read These Northside #AMPLIFY Stories

Pittsburgh map - Northside highlighted in pink

We are in the midst of a fundraiser to organize AMPLIFY outreach throughout the 18 neighborhoods of the Northside. This will include working with the GSA at Perry Traditional Academy and other community groups. Now the Q&A does not ask about specific neighborhoods; we simply ask people to identity their county affiliations. But some people […]

Can We Find 11 New #AMPLIFY Donors to Celebrate 11 Years on Facebook?

Tuesday, July 19 will mark 11 years since I joined Facebook. This past May, I celebrated 10 years on Twitter. That’s a lot of content created and shared.  In that time, I’ve gone through three laptops, a tablet, and six phones. I took a closer look at the OP I shared and was (not) surprised […]

Amplify LGBTQ Voices from Pittsburgh’s Northside Because We Believe In Our Back Yards

We have a very special opportunity right now to receive a 100% match from the Buhl Foundation for a one-time hyperlocal AMPLIFY blitz. This is an extension of the One Northside project. A few weeks ago, I was asked to identify LGBTQ resources on the Northside – from any or all of the 18 neighborhoods. […]

50 LGBTQ Parents #AMPLIFY Their Experiences for #LGBTQFamiliesDay 2018

Monday is #LGBTQFamilies Day on social media, sponsored by the blog Mombian and the Family Equality Council since 2006. This day celebrates LGBTQ families. Once again, I’ve decided to share #AMPLIFY posts highlighting the voices of parents, step-parents  and grandparents and other caretakers of children.  If you are a LGBTQ person with ties to Western Pennsylvania, please […]

The Return of #AMPLIFY

AMPLIFY MLK Day

At the end of 2017, the #AMPLIFY project took a hiatus. This was in large part because of surgery that I (Sue) had scheduled for early January 2018. We also used the time to get some ducks in a row and plan ahead. Here are a few things we think you should know We posted […]

#AMPLIFY Update February 2018

#AMPLIFY Tee Shirts

Hello everyone. This is a quick update to let you that we’ll begin publishing #AMPLIFY posts again in March 2018. I had hoped to start backup in February after recuperating from my hysterectomy, but my recovery is taking a little longer than I expected. Nothing terrible, just a slow process especially during the winter. To […]

Touching Base

Touching Base

I haven’t blogged much of late. Still in recovery mode, what I amusing refer to as #hysterecovery – well, amusing to me. My health is okay. I have one of two little possible sources of problems that I have to manage. I drove today for the first time, 1.6 miles to be exact. I couldn’t […]

Last Minute LGBTQ Donations To Consider in 2017

There’s a lot of good work going on in Pittsburgh and the larger region. If you are considering some end-of-the-year gifts, we offer these for your consideration. This is a time when $5 or $10 can have a huge impact. PublicSource – a critical resource for investigative journalism. Gifts up to $1,000 will be matched […]

Top Blog Posts from 2017

This annual roundup is always very sobering for me because most of the posts are typically my coverage of violence against LGBTQ people. I’ve written elsewhere about why this matters and I will continue to do my best to provide good information on these important stories. 15 posts out of the top 20 most read […]

Dakota, 27, Wants You to Support Queer Activists & Queer Art #AMPLIFY

Describe your geographical community. 

“Pittsburgh is an urban community that is mostly LGBTQ-friendly, but I’ve found that’s often on a surface level… which I think is true for the way Pittsburgh appeals to lots of minoritized groups. There are community spaces for queer folks, medical providers who cater to our specific needs, nonprofits dedicated to our causes, and local businesses owned by members of the community. But it often feels like Pittsburgh’s blue-collar roots are at odds with contemporary queer community-building. Queer folks, to me, feel very disparate and broken up into cliques — sort of how the city is split up into so many tiny neighborhoods. As I write this answer, I’m realizing that I don’t think I’ve ever let my guard down to feel like my full self in any of the five years I’ve been living in Western PA.”