Common Roads
In 2001, Bi-GLYAH applied and received their 501(c)(3) status to become an independent non-profit organization. After receiving their new status, the youths were encouraged to help re-name the group again. They choose Common Roads because it has “a better ring to it and was more marketable.”
The group also went through multiple location changes from 2001 to 2003 until they found a building on Third Street (currently Mid-Town Scholar Bookstore) which they shared with the Gay and Lesbian Switchboard of Harrisburg (GLSH) and Statewide PA Equal Rights Coalition (SPARC). However, the group desired their own space, and finally settled at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church on Front Street around 2005.
Finally, with the 501 (c)(3) status, Common Roads was able to create an Executive Director position. Each Executive Director brought their own ideas to programming in the organization, but all stayed true to the initial desire from the moment Bi-GLYAH was created: to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth in Central PA.
General Programming
Even though the name changed, programming for Common Roads was very similar to Bi-GLYAH programming. Meetings were every Friday night, and always started with a check in, with an activity to follow. Some activities included bowling, taking a trip to City Island, and mini prom. Also, the students were just as involved in programming as they were before, and the facilitators worked with them on planning activities and events within reason and budget.
Facilitators also brought speakers in, but they usually were incorporated to already planned programming because saying “a speaker was coming” usually lead to a low turnout rate on those nights. Mainly, just like when Bi-GLYAH first started, the youth saw Common Roads as a safe space where they could "hangout."
Educational Workshops
Through grant funding, Carol’s goal of educating the educators was able to be made into a reality. Through the help of Marlene Kanuck, a good friend of Carol’s who worked in the PA Department of Education, Bianca Cody Murphy, a local psychology professor who had experience writing courses focusing on LGBTQ+ youth issues, and Jennifer Ellis, an attorney, the group created and planned their first workshop.
For the first workshop, the group planned for around 20 attendees, but to their surprise and excitement, 60 counselors attended. So they decided to run the workshop a second time, totaling 120 attendees. The group then went on to work with the Department of Education to count the workshop as continuing education units (CEUs) for attending counselors. Workshops were held at schools all over Central PA and became popular with administrators, who later asked for them to do workshops focused on administrators as well.
"Talk targets needs of gay youth," The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, PA), April 2005. Courtesy of The Patriot-News.
Executive Director - Michelle Simmons
After Carol Reisinger stepped down from the position, Michelle Simmons became Executive Director of Common Roads from 2006 – 2008. Goals that she brought to the position included: creating leadership and community service opportunities for the youth in the group, partnering with other organizations to reach others outside of Harrisburg, and expanding the educational opportunities through a local LGBTQ+ youth conference. Towards the end of her time as Executive Director, Michelle also proposed the group merge with the LGBT Center Coalition of Central PA.
Michelle Simmons photograph, Dickinson College, circa 2012. Courtesy of Dickinson College Archives and Special Collections.
Common Roads Booth at Central PA PrideFest, circa 2006. Courtesy of LGBT-021, DCA
Common Roads Float at Central PA PrideFest, circa 2006. Courtesy of LGBT-021, DCA.
Branching Out
Along with providing opportunities for the youth to interact with the community, Michelle also planned events with outside organizations throughout Central PA to advertise for Common Roads and support other organizations.
She helped plan “Coming Out: 15 Artists, 15 Years of Common Roads,” which was a traveling exhibit that expressed the coming out experience of 15 LGBTQ+ artists and celebrated the 15th anniversary of Common Roads (starting from its beginnings as Bi-GLYAH).
Michelle also used this goal to involve the youth in fundraising for the group. This was done through events like “Tropicanza,” which was a silent auction and tea dance fundraiser, and the “Winter Arts Festival.”
Coming out: 15 Artist, 15 years of Common Roads Exhibit Postcard, 2008. Courtesy of LGBT-021, DCA.
Gay Straight Alliance/Gender & Sexualities Alliance (GSA)
During Michelle’s time working with the pilot leadership program, she attended the True Colors Conference, a LGBTQ+ Youth Conference in Connecticut, with youth from the group. After that experience, Michelle wanted to establish a similar conference in Central PA to expand educational opportunities for LGBTQ+ issues in the area.
Using the educational workshops that Carol started for school administrators, counselors, and educators as a starting point, the GSA Summit was created. The purpose of the GSA summits were to provide a space to help high school students and faculty learn how to start a GSA in their own schools.
They hosted their first summit at Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) on February 29, 2008, with 140 students attending. After the first meeting, the summits moved to Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA in 2009, and by 2012 were extended to a two-day conference, with one day focusing on high school students and the other focusing on college students.
