It was not long ago that I would have had to lie to join the military. In addition to other changes, our country’s military has changed significantly. With that, however, come additional challenges. The founder and executive director of Project New Hope, Bill Moore, said, “The military veterans keep to themselves, but the LGBT veterans keep to themselves even more!”

Veterans – and especially LGBT veterans – are not easy to reach with services. Project New Hope’s mission is to assist veterans and their families with PTSD, TBI, military sexual trauma, marital issues, chronic pain and suicidal thoughts and other issues. It is a nonprofit service organization, and one of the ways Project New Hope delivers services is through annual retreats.

One of the board members had a relative who was gay and asked about services for LGBT veterans. The board decided that this would be a good themed retreat to try and see if people would use it – and they did!

This is special because the retreats provide a holistic approach, and there is no cost to veterans or their families. The veterans are encouraged to bring their spouses and children. There are special program for the kids, so the parents can fully focus on their workshops and networking, as well as massage and acupuncture.

This year, Navy SEAL Kristin Beck will be the special guest at Project New Hope’s LGBT retreat, which will be held March 11-13. She came out in 2013 and served on several high-profile missions in the Middle East.

“I do not believe a soul has a gender, but my new path is making my soul complete and happy … I hope my journey sheds some light on the human experience and, most importantly, helps heal the socio-religious dogma of a purely binary gender,” Beck said.

I know many LGBT veterans in our area who would benefit from this retreat, which is open to any LGBT veteran. Moore said veterans are also welcome to just come on Saturday if they are unable to come for the whole weekend.

I also asked about what happens after the retreat, and Project New Hope continues to follow and provide resources to all the veterans that attend the retreats. That is pretty special, since it is an all-volunteer organization! For more information, visit projectnewhopema.org/retreats.

Other Local Events:
Worcester Pride will participate in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade for the first time! We will have a marching group and need your participation; worcesterpride.org.

LGBT Networking for Professionals is held on the second Wednesday of every month;
worcestergayprofessionals@gmail.com.

AirSpray at Electric Haze! Dance, dance, dance on the third Friday of every month;
airspraywstr@gmail.com.

LGBTQ Meetup is always offering events, from karaoke to hiking;
meetup.com/LGBTQ4CentralMA.

New England Pride TV with Dale LePage is coming (Dale may even let me co-host sometimes!; NEPrideTV@gmail.com.

As always, please let me know about your LGBTQ+ event at outandaboutworcester@gmail.com. For more information, visit worcesterpride.org.

By John Trobaugh