This year was the first one that Wilton Pride collaborated with the Riverbrook Regional/Wilton YMCA and Wilton Library to create rainbow-painted crosswalks at their locations during Pride Month. Officials at the library and the YMCA said response from the community was overwhelmingly positive and they agreed that taking the lead on the painted installations sent a message of inclusivity and safety for all in the community — key steps that aligned with both organizations’ missions.
Wilton Library: “Making sure everyone feels safe and welcome”
Wilton Library Executive Director Caroline Mandler said the decision to work with Wilton Pride to paint three of library’s parking lot crosswalks with Pride rainbows was “amazing” and has inspired an outpouring of positive public feedback.
“[Patrons] just reaching out telling us not only what the crosswalks mean to them, but everything that we’re doing with all of the different community groups. People really get that it’s not just about Pride Month or LGBTQ+. It’s everything we’re doing with the [Wilton] Coalition to Combat Antisemitism and the Hindu groups and all those things are coming together. It’s been really encouraging,” Mandler said.
The painted crosswalks are just one of several initiatives the library has taken in the last year or two to further its ongoing mission within the community.
“It’s always been our mission, which has not changed — to be the cultural and intellectual center of Wilton. We’re literally the center of the community. So we built upon that with our new vision, specifically for this moment in time, to address the changing needs of our community, making sure everyone feels safe and welcome,” Mandler said.
She said the organization is unique because it serves the entire community.
“The schools serve kids and parents, the Y serves their members, but we really see everyone. So it’s our responsibility to make sure that everyone does feel welcome. We’ve been doing that in a variety of ways. We did the crosswalks this month; last month we had the pinwheels for mental health awareness; in the fall, we did domestic violence [awareness], so really whatever the community wants to focus on, we’ll respond and partner with them,” Mandler said.
When disagreements arise or members of the public complain about specific programs, Mandler said she aims to have respectful discussions to understand different viewpoints, and then offer alternatives.
“People are welcome to express their opinions and then we talk about it,” she said. “The good thing about the library is, if you disagree with a certain program, then you can just skip that line and there’ll be 10 others that we’ve got that you might like. We serve everyone and all ages and schedules and interests. Once people understand that, they realize that everything is not going to be for them, and that’s okay.”
With the rainbow crosswalks, there were a “few negative complaints and also an overwhelming outpouring of support.”
Resident Madeleine Wilken forwarded to GOOD Morning Wilton one such supportive message she sent to Mandler about the rainbow crosswalks. “Its vibrant statement of our community’s support for our fellow LGBTQ residents, kids, and family members lifts up my heart! Many many thanks!”
Mandler shared other positive emails she received about the crosswalks. “I want to provide my full-hearted support behind all activities that the Wilton Library does to support those who are on the receiving end of prejudice. Whether it is the beautiful rainbow crosswalks, or the different events you provide to support and educate all different groups,” one person wrote.
“The Wilton Library’s visible support … are so important to the LGBTQ+ community and to the important role the library plays in creating a great culture in our town,” wrote another.
To many, the crosswalks were a visual way to create a safe and accepting environment.
“Someone wrote to me and said that us doing the crosswalk is a visual messaging of the [Town’s] Civility Proclamation. It’s essentially us building upon that in our own way, how we’re contributing to the effort towards civility and understanding in Wilton,” Mandler said. “That’s the bigger picture, what I think people should think about. It’s not just one issue or rainbows.”
Riverbrook Regional/Wilton Family YMCA: “Honored to Participate”
Like Mandler, Riverbrook Regional YMCA CEO Christene Freedman has been very encouraged at how the community has embraced the rainbow crosswalk initiative.
“It’s so nice to see that from our members because, as a nonprofit and as part of our mission, we are here to serve all in the community. And so to see our members supporting that part of our mission, knowing that they also feel that all people deserve to be seen, heard, affirmed and loved is really rewarding,” Freedman said, adding, “And our staff too, right? Our staff are 100% behind it, too.”
The Wilton YMCA has long been a leader in supporting the LGBTQ+ community. It was one of the first organizations in Wilton to offer non-gender-specific facilities to its members.
“We have what we call universal locker rooms, we have three of those. And those are for nonbinary-gender people. And then even in our general locker room policy, we do say that all members and guests have the right to use the locker room facilities that correspond with their gender presentation and gender identity. So if we do have members or guests that feel uncomfortable using the traditional locker room, then they’re welcome to use these universal locker rooms,” Freedman explained.
The Wilton YMCA is also part of a larger national organization that has its own practices. And while the national policies are not necessarily meant to be mandated by each branch, acceptance and inclusion fits with the umbrella organization’s philosophies.
“The Y of the USA, it’s not a policy that they push down to Ys across the country. But it is part of their ‘best practices’ because Y of the USA is also for all. But they allow each Y to create their own policies and procedures — but they do highly recommend and even on their website, they are highlighting Pride Month and they’re talking about inclusive communities as well,” Freedman said.
Indeed, fostering welcoming communities is exactly what the YMCA stands for. That’s why, Freedman said, making sure the Riverbrook Regional Y reinforced that visually.
“It’s part of our culture, right? So we need to make every effort to foster that equity and inclusion. That includes our social media platforms. It includes our website and includes seeing the crosswalk when you come into the building. We want and we need to be able to put that externally, public-facing out there. That’s who we are. That’s our culture and you want to create the safe spaces,” she said.
Freedman said she wasn’t surprised the feedback she received from the community was supportive.
“Wilton is one of these communities that embraces that LGBTQ+ community, Wilton Pride has done an excellent job communicating and educating and providing inclusive events and forums where people are now very acceptive of Pride Month in Wilton,” she said.
She said she was pleased that the Wilton Y could help represent that community acceptance to people outside Wilton as well, sharing a message she received from a member of the YMCA in Westport who was visiting Wilton’s Y as part of a reciprocity program.
That person wrote: “I am contacting you to thank you and the others behind the decision to place a rainbow crosswalk at the Wilton Y. This gesture gave me the chills when I saw it yesterday. … The Y’s rainbow crosswalk is a step towards ensuring that the LGBTQ folks of future generations will not learn to hate themselves but rather feel seen and know that there are special spaces and people in their midst who want them to feel safe enough to they can proudly hold their head up high.”
Getting that feedback helped solidify for Freedman that participating with Wilton Pride in the rainbow crosswalk initiative was really important.
“We were really honored to be asked to participate, to be quite honest with you. Wilton Pride and the Y have a shared commitment to ensuring all people are treated with dignity and respect, and to be asked was a real honor,” Freedman said.
This is biased reporting at best. To assume that the vast majority of Wilton residents are in enthusiastic support, let alone “ proud” of these LGBTQ demonstrations is highly questionable. That assumption is based on the feedback of a small minority in town and is being used to justify an “in-your-face” approach against us all.
If it saves one child’s life because they feel like they are supported and safe, and that their life is important regardless of their sexual or gender identity, what can be wrong about that.