Elderberries Library: 2023-04 StAndrews letter

To: United Church of Canada Foundation

3 April 2023

Greetings:

I write on behalf of The Elderberries Society in support of the St Andrew's United Church Pride Project, and any proposals, gatherings, needs assessments, gap analyses thereof. We strongly support both the idea of a 2SLGBTQ+ community gathering to share our needs and imagine our uses.

As an organization which works entirely for the promotion of fulfilling and healthy lives for 2SLGBTQ+ elders, one of the main needs we have is for a physical space. The lack of one that is reliably available in the long term - e.g. from one year to the next - has used up a lot of our limited organizational energy and caused inconvenience to members.

In the event this proposal is funded, we would expect our role in the Pride Project, to include:

Participating in community consultation efforts conducted by St Andrew's United
Inviting our members to the Round Table
Distributing the resulting report to our members

We look forward to working together to improve the spiritual, mental, and physical health of the Halifax Elder 2SLGBTQ+ community.

Sincerely,

Barend Kamperman Chair, Elderberries Society