🏳‍🌈  April 2025 - Rainbow (LGBTQIA+) and Allies Coffee / Social Groups 🏳‍🌈

Resist!   United we stand, divided we fall!

TOMORROW NIGHT!!!

Transgender Day of Visibility Movie Night

MARCH 31, 2025 at the Bangs Community Center in Room 101 at 7pm, light refreshments will be served. 

👉 April 4th, AMHERST COFFEE HOUR (Tomorrow) 10 -11:30 am at the Bangs Community Center in Amherst - Coffee/Tea, bagels and conversation! NEW Extended hours!   https://www.rainbowcoffeehouramherst.com/ 

👉 April 5th,  RAINBOW SUPPER CLUB HOLYOKE 5 -7 pm  Go to https://wmeldercare.org/home/services-programs/lgbtq-support/ 

Dinner, conversation, and activity. Please be sure to RSVP. which you can do by clicking here.

👉 April 9th, Wednesday, BELCHERTOWN’S RAINBOW SOCIAL HOUR 10 -11 am @ Belchertown Senior Center, 60 State Street, Belchertown https://rainbowsocialhour.my.canva.site/ 

👉April 10th, from 12 - 2 pm, RAINBOW ELDERS AT LIFEPATH, In-person luncheon, Thursday at the South County Senior Center, 22 Amherst Rd., Sunderland, MA, 01375. Click here to register.

HAPPENING AGAIN!  Wednesday, April 16, 2025 - 1:30pm to 2:30pm, Rainbow (Brown bag) Lunch at Hadley Senior Center

Join us for our LGBTQ+ Brown Bag Get-Together - a casual bring-your-own food and beverage gathering where we can meet, chat, and build community! Everyone is welcome - come as you are and bring a friend. For more information, contact the Senior Center. 

Council On Aging Calendar | Hadley MA 

NEW TIME!!!  👉April 17th SOUTH HADLEY SOCIAL / COFFEE HOUR 12:30 - 2 pm @ South Hadley Sr Center. 45 Dayton St, South Hadley - “Brown Bag lunch” https://www.southhadley.org/324/Council-on-Aging

🏳‍🌈  We are meeting in person throughout Western MA!  We are everywhere! 🏳‍🌈

Mark your calendars, pass the info along to your friends, and plan to attend!  Help support all the groups!

1. Amherst Sr Center - 1st Tuesday of month @ 10-11:30 am https://www.rainbowcoffeehouramherst.com/

2. Holyoke Sr Center - 1st Wednesday of month @ 5-7 pm (Unless a holiday, then moved to following week)  https://wmeldercare.org/home/services-programs/lgbtq-support/

3. Belchertown Sr Center - 2nd Wednesday of month @ 10-11 am https://rainbowsocialhour.my.canva.site/ 

4. Life path, Orange COA, 62 Cheney St., Orange, MA 2nd Tuesday of month, Social gathering 2-3:30 pm https://lifepathma.org/what-we-offer/health-and-wellness/rainbow-elders/

5. Lifepath, South County Sr Center, Sunderland - 2nd Thursday of month - luncheon @ 12-2 pm 

6. South Hadley Sr Center - 3rd Thursday of month @ 12:30 - 2 pm https://www.southhadley.org/324/Council-on-Aging 

7. Northampton Sr Center - Silver Lesbians - 1st, 3rd & 5th Tuesday at 2:30 pm  https://northamptonma.gov/2055/Senior-Services 

8. Northampton Sr Center - Gay Men's Group, every Friday@ 1 pm https://northamptonma.gov/2055/Senior-Services 

9. ON HOLD!  North County (Bernardston) Sr Center - 3rd Friday@ 11 am https://www.townofbernardston.org/council-aging 

10. Hadley Senior Center - Rainbow (Brown bag) Lunch at 12:30 pm  https://www.hadleyma.org/council-aging 

Photos from the AMHERST SENIOR CENTER MURAL UNVEILING RECEPTION

December 10, 2024 Tuesday 9-11 am 

@ Bangs Community Center, 70 Boltwood Walk, Amherst

• Students Of Lucia Monge’s Public Art And Collaborative Practices have been hard at work painting a mural inside the Senior Center. It is time to unveil their masterpiece! Please join us for the reception! Thank you to the Center for Community Engagement at Amherst College! Refreshments generously provided by Amherst College. 

The Town of Amherst is proud to announce that it has achieved an outstanding score of 99 out of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2024 Municipal Equality Index (MEI), illustrating the Town’s unwavering commitment to equity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ residents and visitors.  

“We are honored to receive this high score, as it represents our Town's dedication to creating a community where everyone feels welcomed and valued,” said Town Manager Paul Bockelman. “This achievement is a testament to the hard work of our Town departments, community leaders, and advocates who strive to ensure that Amherst is an inclusive space for all.” 

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Municipality Equality Index is a nationwide evaluation of cities and towns on how inclusive municipal laws, policies, and services are of LGBTQ+ people who live and work there. Cities are rated based on non-discrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement, and leadership on LGBTQ+ equality. 

“It’s essential that the LGBTQ+ community feels safe and valued, as this fosters a more inclusive, supportive environment for all residents,” said Philip Avila, assistant director of the Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. “Ensuring safety and representation helps break down stereotypes, strengthens community bonds, and promotes equality. Amherst’s commitment to inclusivity is key to building a town where everyone, regardless of their identity, belongs and flourishes.” 

Some of the key initiatives contributing to the Town’s score include: 

• Implementation of comprehensive non-discrimination policies in all areas of municipal operations.

• Providing town services to LGBTQ+ youth, people experiencing homelessness, and older adults.

• Elected and appointed leaders who openly identify as LGBTQ+.

• Partnerships with local LGBTQ+ organizations to provide support and outreach services.

• Community programs that celebrate and promote LGBTQ+ culture and visibility.

The Amherst Police Department also announced that Detective Marcus Humber has been designated as the LGBTQ+ Police Liaison, serving as an accessible and friendly ear to the town’s LGBTQ+ community and elevating related concerns to the police chief and other Town officials. With this announcement, the Town is confident of achieving an MEI score of 100 in future years.  

“The Town of Amherst remains committed to continuous improvement and enhancement of its policies and practices” said Pamela Nolan Young, director of the Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. “While this score is an important milestone, the journey toward full equality and inclusion is ongoing.” 

“Over more than a decade, the Municipal Equality Index has worked with cities and towns in all parts of the country, in all fifty states to advance the fight for lived and legal equality,” said Human Rights Campaign Foundation President Kelley Robinson in an announcement of this year’s scores. “For LGBTQ+ people, building community isn’t just a phrase, it’s a way of life. In many important ways, local politics shapes our lives just as much as state or national politics does. Mayors and city councilors who take LGBTQ+ inclusion seriously build stronger communities, and in turn their cities thrive.”   

The full MEI report, Amherst’s scorecard, and a searchable database for other municipalities’ scores are available online at hrc.org/mei. To learn more about what Amherst is doing to support LGBTQ+ equality, please contact the Human Rights Commission at humanrights@amherstma.gov. 

Amherst 2024 Municipal Equality Index Scorecard

Posted on: November 25, 2024  https://www.amherstma.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=3698

An LGBTQIA+ & Allies Coffee / Social Hour

Come and meet others for friendly conversations! 

Contact this group by email @  Rainbowandallies@gmail.com