This year during Pride Month & Disability Pride Month, we’re highlighting why it’s important to celebrate the queer communities that make West Michigan unique. Whether you celebrate as part of the community or as an ally, it’s important to know the difference your dollars can make to these (+ more!) LGBTQIA+ owned businesses:
Shining a light on the local artisans in the LGBTQIA+ community, Arts Marketplace at Studio Park, has created a beautiful centerpiece in their store celebrating their work. You will find homemade cards, jewelry, & recycled handmade flowers. Communities that support LGBTQIA+ individuals are stronger and more resilient, with diverse perspectives contributing to problem-solving and community building. A report from the Williams Institute highlights how LGBTQIA+ inclusive communities have stronger social networks and greater civic engagement (Williams Institute: “LGBTQ Community Strength and Resilience).
Near the Heartside neighborhood, you’ll find a queer-owned spiritual store called The 12th House. This shop offers a wide variety of products that celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community, including all identity flags and memorabilia, a variety of crystals, and other spiritual health items. The 12th House has partnered with The Midwest Movement Collection, a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community, and regularly hosts events that celebrate the community and offer a place of healing. Supporting the LGBTQIA+ community encourages personal growth and acceptance, helping individuals to understand and respect differences in others. Studies show that inclusive environments lead to greater empathy and social cohesion (Journal of Social Issues: Inclusive Environments and Social Cohesion).
Down the road from The 12th House, you’ll find a brilliant Massage Therapist who crafted her technique to assist the LGBTQIA+ community through her healing practices. At New Yew, Chelle “provides trauma informed massage therapy and body work for primarily queer and neurodivergent people. I provide the same thing for people who have chronic pain conditions and visible disabilities, people who have a spot that no one’s been able to help. And that’s my favorite one to work on! There’s a lot of satisfaction in getting people less pain, more range of motion when they’ve gone through several rounds of physical therapy, seeing a million different other providers.” Supportive environments significantly improve the mental health and well-being of LGBTQIA+ individuals, reducing rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide (The Trevor Project: National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health 2021).
Bookstores offer a sense of calming power because they are catalysts of bringing educational materials to the forefront! Located in Eastown, Books & Mortar has been a curated space of celebrating diversity and inclusion by offering educational books for all ages. When you enter their location, you’ll be welcomed by a lovely display of LGBTQIA+ authors. It’s important to be a space of educational opportunity because you never know who you will impact.
Right next door to Books & Mortar lies Furniture City Creamery. Furniture City Creamery is an artisan ice cream shop that specializes in creating both dairy and nondairy alternative ice cream! They have flavors for everyone and are always coming up with new recipes to spice up the community. They recently released two new flavors in support of pride month: Queer Up in Here & Trans Joy. Make sure you get your favorite scoop before these new flavors run out!
Our members mean a lot to us. Celebrating their identities and valuing their diversity is what makes our economy and community great! Supporting LGBTQIA+ businesses as a consumer is building the type of economy that you want to see flourish. Owners of businesses that may not identify as LGBTQIA+ should note that building an inclusive workplace that supports LGBTQIA+ employees see higher levels of innovation, productivity, and employee satisfaction, benefiting the overall economy. A study by the Center for Talent Innovation found that employees who feel included are 42% less likely to leave their job within a year (Center for Talent Innovation: Innovation, Diversity, and Market Growth).
Supporting LGBTQIA+ rights is fundamental to ensuring equality and human rights for all, fostering a more just and inclusive society. The United Nations has emphasized that protecting LGBTQIA+ rights is essential for upholding universal human rights. So, when shopping this June and beyond, make sure you spend your money at the businesses that shape the world you want to live in!