Daniel Heller didn’t start out with a business plan—he just wanted to hang out with other gay people without having to head to downtown Boston.
“Living in Cambridge, I found I had to travel two or three miles to socialize with other members of the community,” says Heller. “And it was a different neighborhood with a different demographic from my own.”
So Heller organized a gay “takeover” of a nearby watering hole in Cambridge, a community just outside the city. About 20 other people showed up and socialized.
“It allowed me to access my neighborhood in a way that made it feel more like home,” says Heller, a member of Boston’s WeWork Fort Point.
Heller says that other participants apparently felt the same, because word began to spread. Just a few months later, more than 1,000 people gathered in a bar across the street from Boston’s Fenway Park.
Five years later, The Welcoming Committee plans events in 10 cities across the United States. The destinations range from nightclubs and museums to concerts and sports events. The types of functions are tailored for each city. Upcoming outings include a basketball game in Philadelphia and a music festival in Chicago.
Heller says the point is to make sure there’s a “critical mass” so that people feel comfortable, even in an environment where they might otherwise feel a bit uneasy. He’s in the Boston area, so the first example that comes to mind has to do with baseball.
“When you’re 600 people among 37,000 at Fenway Park,” he says, “you’re just another group of people wandering around.”
But the impact on participants is powerful.
“To be seated among others who share your interest in baseball and to be holding hands with your same-sex partner is an exciting and fleeting experience,” Heller says.
When it comes to the power of community, Heller speaks passionately.
“That can mean a lot of different things to a lot of people,” he says. “For some, it may mean a sense of safety and comfort. For others, it can be bonding over common interests in things that run deeper than being gay.”
Photos: Pretty Instant