ONCE a week at Barkly Square, A Pot of Courage\u2019s large table is filled with visitors looking for coffee, a chat, and an inclusive space.<\/p>\n
Over a dozen queer residents meet at 10am every Thursday morning as part of the Rainbow Ballarat Coffee meetups, which convenor Rick Youssef said has provided a social outlet for many within the LGBTQIA+ community.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s giving them an outlet they didn\u2019t have beforehand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of lonely, isolated people in Ballarat, particularly in the queer community, and this gives them an outing once a week.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur conversations are pretty broad. We\u2019ve got some keen gardeners. People are talking politics at the moment. We talk about the town. Anything you\u2019d think a coffee group would talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Upon returning to Ballarat after a decade away, Mr Youssef wanted to form a social network in the city and founded the group in late 2019 having taken part in a similar social initiative in Creswick.<\/p>\n
The group has since grown from about three regulars to an average gathering of about 15 people.<\/p>\n
Daniel Witthaus, CEO and founder of non-profit group Rural Pride Australia marked his third visit to the meetup, and said it provides an \u201con-the-ground\u201d look at Ballarat\u2019s queer community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re seeing people here who you won\u2019t necessarily hear from if you put out a consultation but you find out how their everyday lives are going,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love coming to this as well because it\u2019s an accessible inclusive space. People remember each other\u2019s names, their pronouns, and it\u2019s a real pulse of what\u2019s going on in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
All are welcome to attend, and Mr Youssef posts photos from each meetup on the Rainbow Ballarat Facebook group to give those hesitant to attend an idea of what\u2019s taking place.<\/p>\n
Other social activities have stemmed from the coffee catchups like the monthly queer beers and Sunday pub meetups.<\/p>\n
Cheryl Szollosi has been attending the coffee gatherings since its early days and raved about the events.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the best thing I ever did,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was isolating before it became fashionable, and this really got me re-engaging with people. I think I\u2019ve only missed a handful of these since I started.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve met a lovely bunch of people and it\u2019s really opened my horizons to the broadness of the community. I\u2019ve even found my partner through this.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ONCE a week at Barkly Square, A Pot of Courage\u2019s large table is filled with visitors looking for coffee, a chat, and an inclusive space. Over a dozen queer residents meet at 10am every Thursday morning as part of the Rainbow Ballarat Coffee meetups, which convenor Rick Youssef said has provided a social outlet for […]<\/p>\n