OutCenter hosting open house Friday in downtown Dowagiac
“We’re talking about a sizable portion of our communities that need support, need to be able to find community, and need folks out there that are advocating for them,” Executive Director Gerik Maverick said. “We have been working with schools for just over a decade. We work with healthcare systems on training to make sure folks are able to get resources. We’re working with the area agency on aging on some very exciting new projects.”
OutCenter Southwest Michigan is hosting the grand opening of its Dowagiac location on Friday. It will be an open-house-style event from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the nonprofit’s new space in downtown Dowagiac at 143 South Front Street. Food, drinks, and music will be provided and Executive Director Gerik Maverick hopes people show up to come together and hang out.
OutCenter announced its new location in September and Maverick says the new location allows the organization to be more central to its network.
“Dowagiac is more central to the tri county area,” Maverick said, referencing the three counties they cover — Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren. “We’ll be able to continue to do the work in the different counties, but also have a home base in Cass so some of our partners can utilize our space and become part of that hub in Cass County as well.”
One of the reasons for the move was a need for a different space. OutCenter has been doing less events recently, and is working to be out in the community more. Maverick says the new location in Dowagiac allows them to continue that transition, while also working toward creating more in-person events. Maverick said participation in those kinds of events has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Since COVID, in-person things, especially in rural communities, have just gotten harder. You talk to other organizations similar to ours, you talk to churches and some of these other civic organizations and it’s really hard to get folks re-engaged,” Maverick told Watershed Voice. “And so for us, understanding that our population is a specific subset of a rural community, we really have been working over the last several years to get our programming out into other areas.”
Some of OutCenter’s programs include the LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equity Project, which works to address healthcare disparities experienced by LGBTQ+ people, and LGBTQ+ Safe Schools, which works to help schools become more inclusive of LGBTQ+ students through school clubs, workshops, and guidance. Maverick added that the organization’s main focus is working to make existing systems work better.
“We’re talking about a sizable portion of our communities that need support, need to be able to find community, and need folks out there that are advocating for them,” Maverick said. “We have been working with schools for just over a decade. We work with healthcare systems on training to make sure folks are able to get resources. We’re working with the area agency on aging on some very exciting new projects.”
Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.
Author
Related Articles
Cass County town hall to discuss data centers and local impact
SaveCassCounty is hosting a town hall in Cassopolis Sunday to discuss concerns around data centers, Fibrosan, and solar farms across Cass County. The organization has invited the public and elected officials to attend the second of two town halls organized by the group.
The town hall will be held on Sunday, September 27 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Ross Beatty High School Auditorium, 22721 Diamond Cove Street, Cassopolis, Michigan.
Cass County interim prosecutor sworn-in through 2028
Circuit Court Judge Mark Herman appointed Sarah Scoggin to the position on an interim basis on May 28 following the resignation of former Prosecutor Victor Fitz.
Scoggin has now agreed to serve through the end of the term, which ends in 2028, and may choose to seek election to a subsequent term.
Cass Swim builds water safety skills as community works to secure program future
Cass Swim began with Diamond Lake residents Jeanne Jourdan and her late husband, Tom Swartz, who believed local children should have access to swimming and water-safety instruction. Working with the YMCA and other community partners, their idea grew into a program that has become a longstanding tradition for Cassopolis students.
Jourdan remains a passionate advocate for Cass Swim, hosting several days of instruction each year in her own backyard pool. Close friends Tom and Jill Vihtelic joined the effort six years ago and have since become community leaders for the program, helping spearhead fundraising and volunteer efforts alongside Jourdan.
