23 Year Old Western PA Trans Man Killed in Officer Related Shooting

Sean Hake

Police officers responded to a domestic call in Sharon, Pennsylvania around 11:30 PM Friday evening. A 23-year-old resident of the house, Sean Hake, was fatally shot before midnight. Sean was a trans man. Mercer County District Attorney Miles K. Karson Jr. said Saturday he could not comment on the open investigation. He said he expects […]

Tara, 29, Describes Life in the Shenango Valley as a Bisexual Woman #AMPLIFY

Mercer County Bisexual

“[After 9th grade concert] Once we got home, my tears had turned to anger. I ended up slamming every door I touched, kicked off my shoes so hard they hit the wall, and told my mom I hated her. She got in my face, and my dad stepped in. He sent my little brother to his room before I recalled what happened at the school. He sighed, but didn’t say anything. He was a man of few words. After a few minutes of me blubbering, trying to calm down, the three of us went to the kitchen table to talk.
I remember my dad sitting across from me and my mom sitting to my right at our tiny cramped kitchen table. I don’t remember the specifics of conversation, mostly because I blocked it out, but in a nutshell, they told me homosexuality was wrong and I was going to Hell if I continued liking girls. I fidgeted with a leftover napkin as I told them I loved Z. We were best friends. I said I was bisexual, not homosexual, hoping that might somehow make it better. It didn’t. I was still damned just the same.

In the weeks following my admission, my parents forced me to start counseling.”

UPDATED! How To Sign Up for Toys for Tots in Western Pennsylvania – 2016 Edition

Toys for Tots Pennsylvania

Here’s my annual roundup of toy distribution resources for Western Pennsylvania. Many Toys for Tots enrollment deadlines are right around the corner while other sites have not yet posted. Please share this information with anyone you know who may need assistance with toys this holiday season.

I will update this post as more information becomes available.

Shain Describes Being a Gay Kid in the Nancy Reagan Fear Generation #AMPLIFY UPDATED

Gay Mercer County

“He was just thin, lived in NYC, and was gay so in the early 90’s, and being a kid of the Nancy Reagan fear generation, I assumed he had full blow AIDS and that someday I would, too.” Name:  Shain Kish Age: 32 County of Residence:  Mercer County, also lived in Allegheny. Now lives in New […]

How To Sign Up For Toys for Tots in Western PA – 2015 Edition

I’m actually late this year with this annual blog post. Finding information on Toys for Tots programs can be time-consuming and challenging. My work with the AMPLIFY project has expanded my awareness of how difficult it can be to access programs the further your family lives from an urban hub. My hope is to add […]

Adventures in CSA: Chapter One

CSA share

This summer, Ledcat and I took the plunge and signed up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share through Kretschmann Farm. We get one delivery of fruits/veggies a week plus one chicken per month.  Today, Ledcat picked up our first delivery. How exciting. We had no real idea what to expect, but here’s what arrived:   […]