Members also recommend measures designed to enhance the health, safety, economic opportunity and affordability, educational programs, cultural and learning opportunities, government access and accountability for the LGBTQIA+ community, as well as facilitate Pride events, gatherings, meetings and forums on issues of concern for the LGBTQIA+ community. 1, and the LGBTQ+ advisory committee and LGBTQ+ Commission, are all interwoven, Forte added.
“It’s incredible that Middletown is paving the way for other municipalities,” he added. “It really makes it a centerpiece of what we do - how important it is to the city. “It’s really wonderful to work for a city that takes inclusivity, equity and diversity” seriously, Forte explained. Middletown is one of few cities in Connecticut to have an LGBTQ+ advisory committee and sponsor and support such Pride celebrations. The next year, he founded the Pride festival.
In 2018, Forte spearheaded the effort to create Middletown’s first LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee with a goal of bringing visibility and recognition to the city’s LGBTQIA2S+ citizens and organizing the city’s first Pride event. This year’s event will be held June 4 from 2 to 10 p.m. “It’s a wonderful recognition of Middletown Pride, and the impact and effect that it’s having on our community, and people are noticing.” “I’m so surprised,” said Forte, who hadn’t known he was nominated.
