Finding A Space To Be You
LGBTQ+ center in Manchester opens doors for community connection
President and board chairman Scott Cloutier sits at his desk at the collaborative office.
When Matt Bohannon thinks about where he can find tolerance and safety as a gay man in his travels, he seeks out rainbow pride flags on doors and windows almost as a beacon.
“I go in because I know they’re supportive, and I love to give back to community members who aren’t afraid to support our community,” he said.
However, Bohannon says, those places are often businesses where people are encouraged or required to spend money to stay around. When he looked toward his home in Manchester, he wished for a third space — a communal place that is separate from one’s home or workplace, like a public library or park, that doesn’t always require a financial contribution to visit.
The team at the Queen City’s LGBTQ+ pride organization, Manchester True Collaborative (MTC), felt the same. After Bohannon joined on as communications director in December, the launch of an LGBTQ+ center was one of the nonprofit’s priorities.
MTC was formed in 2022 to manage the city’s annual Pride events in June, succeeding previous organizers. It gained nonprofit status in September 2024, according to president and co-founder Scott Cloutier, who stated that the organization then received an unexpected windfall.
“In the last year, we got a nice anonymous donation … (with) nothing attached on how we had to use the funds,” Cloutier said. “It was how best we believed we should use them, and that’s why we set half of that aside and said, ‘We’re going to put it to use on actually renting space.’”
The organization’s board gathered together, and over a few months, worked to establish the Manchester True Center, which opened in April at 72 Concord St. with an event that welcomed more than 300 visitors, Bohannon recalled.
Volunteer Maggie Cameron, from Pembroke, sits at the administrative desk at the office.
At the center, LGBTQ+ community members of all ages gather for activities where they can find comfort in mingling with people who share their identities and values, as well as access resources MTC has built up and learn about goings-on in the city.
“In May, we had about 22 events, and in June, we probably had somewhere between 20 and 30 events,” Cloutier said. “Those are all scheduled at specific times, and they’ve been
very well attended. I think we’ve probably gotten somewhere upwards of 700 different people who have been coming in and doing stuff.”
Among the resources is Chloe’s Closet, a small room named for a founding member of MTC and transgender community advocate, filled with donated clothes that are free for gender-diverse individuals in need to take. And next to the closet is the Rainbow Book Nook, a reading corner featuring books that promote inclusion, contributed by visitors.
Social opportunities at the True Center include clubs focused on books, movies and sewing, weekly mindfulness meditation meetups and identity-based support groups.
Though MTC itself organizes some, many are member-hosted. Manchester resident Zach, 25, started a group for transgender men like himself at the center in late June, citing his personal difficulties finding people he could relate to. At its first meeting, he said that about eight people attended, which he described as a promising start.
“It was a really diverse group who showed up, who were all different ages and at different stages of their transitions, who all had different life experiences,” Zach said. “It was really inspiring to see that, not only were there so many of us, but we’re all in different walks of life.”
For Zach, the center is more than a gathering place; it’s a lifeline. The group leader moved to New Hampshire last summer from his birth state of Florida to join a childhood friend who had already made the same journey some time earlier.
After coming out as a trans man in 2020, Zach said he experienced increasing prejudice each year and state-imposed laws challenging, then restricting, his abilities to be his identity.
Florida legislation began impacting Zach directly in 2023, cutting off his access to hormone medications as gender-affirming care.
“I woke up one day and suddenly couldn’t get my hormones anymore; my prescription wasn’t valid,” he said. “I was getting them through Planned Parenthood, so I called, and their hands were tied — they were trying to figure out a way to get around it, and they couldn’t. It was very distressing to have such an abrupt change.”
Later that year, he was working to have the sex listed on his identification legally changed, with a signed letter from a physician who confirmed the change as evidence.
“Just a couple of days after I had finally gotten that paperwork, the Florida Department of Transportation released a statement saying they were no longer permitting legal changes, and that if somebody attempted to do so, it could be considered identity fraud.”
This crossed a threshold for Zach, who moved to the Granite State as soon as possible. After the move, he found greater ease in updating his documents to reflect his name and gender.
Zach noted that New Hampshire lawmakers are also presenting some legal challenges to the state’s trans community as a whole, indirectly referencing recent legislation like House Bill 148, which awaits Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s signature and would allow people’s use of restroom facilities to be classified based on their sex at birth.
Still, he feels “very, very happy” here, despite those hurdles, thanks in part to the True Center, which is already serving an important role as he continues to adjust to his new life.
“I think now more than ever, it’s important to find that community and see that we all live here and that we all exist,” Zach said. “We can offer each other support and strengths, and in difficult times like this, we can be there for each other. … Because there is so much negativity out there (toward
LGBTQ+ people), we need to be able to see each other succeed and be strong.”
Donna, a volunteer with MTC who also moved to Manchester from Florida several years ago, seconded that notion. She first visited the center for a Trans Day of Awareness event held there just ahead of the grand opening later that week, and says she’s found kinship with others in the community by attending meetups for Dungeons & Dragons and board games.
“Being able to see a community around yourself to show you’re not just alone in the world is so valuable,” Donna said. “Because you see the news with anti-trans and anti-queer stuff going on, it’s so easy to get into the ‘doom’ mindset. Having events and people around you to remind you it’s not all doom
and gloom helps.”
That rationale is driving Cloutier, Bohannon and the MTC team to endeavor to create “open hours” where the True Center is free to visit for a window of time on days without people needing to participate in a specified event, based on volunteer availability.
“Now that it’s the summertime, we’ve got a set of about 20 to 30 volunteers that are going to take some time and do different open hours, because our ultimate goal is to have this place open all the time,” Cloutier said.
He believes it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility. The center occupies a space that MTC has rented long-term from YWCA New Hampshire, which owns the building and also leases an office there to Queerlective, an LGBTQ+ arts collective.
Additional grant funding could help MTC build its True Center into something greater, he says.
“This building has a lot of opportunity in it,” Cloutier said. “The YWCA is super flexible on how we’re using the space. … Even if there are any bumps in the road, by next year, I have a feeling we’ll either potentially have a full-time employee or a couple of part-time folks consistently keeping things open.”
This article was featured in 603 Diversity.
603 Diversity’s mission is to educate readers of all backgrounds about the exciting accomplishments and cultural contributions of the state’s diverse communities, as well as the challenges faced and support needed by those communities to continue to grow and thrive in the Granite State.
