PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WYMT) – A group of people in the Pikeville area is working to create a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community.
HOME Appalachia was an idea sparked by Tasha Sams, who grew up in Eastern Kentucky, but left to find their place in the world.
“It has been a multi-year journey of kind of putting the puzzle pieces together,” said Sams. “It was certainly a really rough experience of growing up as someone who’s part of the LGBTQ community. And it’s a shared experience. It’s certainly not my own; it resonates with thousands.”
After leaving the area, Sams poured their talents and time into newly-found communities, seeing that many people in their circle left the mountains for the same reason.
“My synapses started firing and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. What can we do to not only get this talent back in Eastern Kentucky, but to leave it there?’” Sams said. “In order, I think, to move those counties forward, and really pave the path that Eastern Kentucky deserves, you’ve got to keep people there. By ensuring that they have their community, they have support, they have access, they have opportunity. And more than that- that they are accepted and loved.”
So, HOME Appalachia was born.
“It really is about not only healing entire generations and ensuring that trauma isn’t moved forward or carried on, but it’s shining a spotlight on the talent and the skill and the artistry that exists in our community,” Sams said. “Because so many individuals who are part of this community are so talented and they’re so skilled and they’re worthy of a home. And we want to make sure that they have that.”
And the Kickstarter campaign was announced Tuesday, kicking off Pride Month with a plan for Pikeville’s first LGBTQ+ gathering space, an arts and entertainment venue that hopes to open downtown.
“If something happens, or if a disaster or tragedy happens, you can always go home. But for the LGTBQ community, that’s not the case always. We find our home elsewhere. We find chosen family. It becomes a whole other experience,” Sams said. “But I really got to a point where I was like, ‘Man, we need to go home.’ It’s our home. That’s our culture. That’s our background. That’s our demographic.”
According to Emma Lowe, a transgender woman who has lived in Pike County her entire life, that community is often found when least expected.
“You grow up here and you’re subject to a lot of stereotypes and a lot of preconceived notions and you don’t know what to expect,” she said.
Though she did not come out as transgender until her 20s, Lowe said the community has rallied behind her and made her feel at home- a feeling she wants to help create for the next generation.
“Seeing that there is so much love and support here? It is amazing,” Lowe said. “And I think that’s one of the things that is going to be so great about the HOME project. That it’s going to- especially for younger people- it’s going to normalize being a queer person here in Appalachia. Give them the idea that they don’t have to go away to be authentically themselves. That they can find that love and community right here at home.”
Lowe said HOME is more than a new business model- it is a safe space.
“Everyone needs a community to belong to,” she said. “Everyone needs a sense of community. and if you’ve always had that, if you are a straight person, a cisgender person, you may not realize how scary that is. How lonely that is to not have it.”
Another Pike Countian, Josh Little, said his journey as a gay man has been lonely at times and he wants others to know they have a place to turn.
“Being a little boy that grew up here, I never thought I would see any of these things happen. But it’s so refreshing to be a part of all of this,” he said. “To see something like this come in, it just shows that times are changing and that, you know, people are more welcoming and open. And it’s just time. It’s time for this.”
And, though the project is still in its early planning phases, Little hopes to see it serve as a place for everyone to be able to come home.
“It’s more than just being invited. HOME Appalachia is a place where you’re welcome and we want you there,” he said. “Getting people back to Appalachia- back to their roots- and keeping them here.”
According to Sams, that is why the venue is important to the group and other people who have supported the idea since its inception.
“HOME exists for all of those who may not have been accepted in their own homes, who have been looking to come back home, or who want to join the community of home,” they said. “Home resonates with a lot of people. It is a special word. It should be a safe word. But we’re really looking to redefine it for the entire community and ensure that they know that Eastern Kentucky is their home and they do have a space there.”
Different locations on the Pikeville Main Street streetscape are on the radar and the plan is in place, but Sams said the brick and mortar will not be reality until at least summer 2020.
“Pikeville has been so welcoming and so supportive. In all honesty, it’s been surreal to sort of see the support that has been kind of coming over the last few months,” said Sams. “We not only want to provide this space but we want to connect with and uplift other businesses in the community.”
In its first two days, the Kickstarter campaign for the project raised more than $2,000 and other funding efforts are underway to make the idea a reality. You can follow the efforts on the HOME website, or follow its Facebook page.
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