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NEXTGen Detroit
Launches ‘Pride’ Initiative
Group aims to create an inclusive
community for LGBT young adults.
Robin Schwartz | Special to the Jewish News
O
ne year ago, Sam Dubin,
24, of West Bloomfield took
a brave step and a leap of
faith. He shared the deeply personal
news that he is gay with family mem-
bers and his closest friends. Dubin, an
active member of the Jewish commu-
nity and director of sales and market-
ing for his family’s dry cleaning and
laundry business, says the news came
as a surprise to some, but the over-
whelming response he received was
love, support and encouragement.
That is not always the case for
members of the LGBTQA (lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, questioning,
ally) community. “Ally” refers to some-
one who is straight or heterosexual
who supports equal civil rights and
LGBT social movements.
“I had a very supportive coming-out
experience,” Dubin says. “As the Jewish
community, we can provide a loving
atmosphere whether a person’s imme-
diate family does or not.”
In an effort to create an inclusive
community, Dubin and fellow board
members of NEXTGen Detroit are
launching NEXTGen Detroit Pride.
Their goal is to “serve as a welcoming
gateway into the Jewish community
for LGBTQA young adults looking for
connections and a supportive atmo-
sphere to explore everything Jewish
Detroit has to offer.”
“We are celebrating the launch with
a happy hour event on Tuesday, May
31, and we’re hoping for a great turn-
out,” said Becky Hurvitz, online con-
tent strategist for NEXTGen Detroit.
“We feel this is history in the making
and a definitive step in creating an
inclusive community for all young
Jewish adults here in Metro Detroit.”
Dubin says, to his knowledge, this
is the first-ever local group specifi-
cally for Jewish LGBTQA young adults.
While he is not certain exactly how
many participants the initiative will
attract, close to 40 people have already
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18 May 26 • 2016
expressed interest or are planning to
attend the happy hour event at Pronto!
in Royal Oak.
“Both volunteers and staff of
NEXTGen Detroit felt there was a
need for a space for young, Jewish
adults who either identify as LGBT
or as allies of the LGBT community,”
explained Stefanie Tuzman, director of
NEXTGen Detroit.
“We want Jewish adults in the
Detroit area to feel comfortable within
their own community and have a
group of peers who support them. By
launching NEXTGen Detroit Pride, we
want to reach a population of young,
Jewish adults who are, in our opinion,
currently underserved. One of our
overarching goals is to help young
Jewish LGBT adults feel welcome at all
of our events.”
The kickoff happy hour on Tuesday,
May 31, takes place from 6-8 p.m. at
Pronto!, 608 S. Washington Ave. in
Royal Oak. Anyone between the ages
of 21-45 is invited to participate. The
cost is $5 per person, including one
drink ticket and appetizers.
“We wanted our first event to be a
social outing so people can meet one
another,” Tuzman said. “In addition to
socializing, we plan to speak about this
new initiative and tell our participants
what NEXTGen Detroit Pride is all
about. We also want to hear from them
about what they’d like to see from this
program.”
Future plans include a bagel brunch
and group outing to the Motor City
Pride parade in June, game nights and
also possible involvement in policy
issues down the road.
“There is still a lot of inequality out
there,” Dubin said. “I think [this initiative]
has the power to do a lot of good.”
*
To register for the NEXTGen Detroit Pride happy
hour visit https://jewishdetroit.org/event/
nextgen-detroit-pride. For additional information,
contact Stefanie Tuzman at tuzman@jfmd.org.