Missouri.USA

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The LIKEME Organization, founded by out country music artist Chely Wright, will host a grand opening on Saturday for its Lighthouse LGBT community center in Kansas City, it what the group hopes will be the first of several LGBT community centers across the Midwest.

A spokesperson for the non-profit group said that the choice of Kansas City was because the needs for understanding and education for LGBTQ people are among the greatest in the nation in that section of the country.

Located in the heart of Kansas City, the Lighthouse comes fully equipped with resources, staff, counselors and a sense of community and safety.

Within the Lighthouse, the Community Center provides resources on such topics as the coming out process, gender identity, bullying and other issues the LGBT community faces. When you walk into the door of our 3909 Main Street, Kansas City, MO location you will feel like you are coming home.

Wright, who grew up in the area just 40 miles away in Wellsville, Kan., a small town with a population of fewer than 2,000, said she founded the organization as a way to provide education, assistance, and resources to LGBT teens, their families, and friends.

In 2010, when Wright published her memoir — “Like Me” — she said that the most important part of coming out for her was to lend support to LGBTQ children and teens, and to counter the belief that gays are wicked and defective.

Wright was the first major country music artist to come out as gay since former country artist K.D. Lang who came out in 1992. She married LGBT rights activist Lauren Blitzer on August 20, 2011.

The event will be held at Noon on Saturday.

Tags: Chely Wright, Kansas City MO, LGBT Centers, LIKEME Organization

Filed under: Missouri