One great act of courage that we all have in common is stepping through
the door into an Alpha-Omega meeting and confronting the fact that we are
not unique, and not alone. The reward we get for this brave act is
the support and wisdom of a community, the chance to share ourselves safely
and freely, and a the chance to give of ourselves to others. But
the truth of the matter is that Alpha Omega is just one community among many dealing
with issues that lie outside the mainstream here in the greater Cleveland
area. Each community forms for its own reasons, and attempts to serve
the needs of differing groups of people. While some people never
need or desire the support of a group with common feelings, others look
despairingly for the right match. While some may feel fulfilled being
in one group, others must belong to several.
Alpha Omega is not for everybody. It has a mission, and to fulfill
that mission it must neglect other ones. But as we grow in understanding
and compassion we grow to care that people who need a community find
their place, and that as a community of communities; we are aware, informed
and respectful of alternatives. Any of us could find ourselves trying
to help a friend or acquaintance find the support they deserve.
This section of pages is dedicated to introducing other
resources in our local area to our members. Having the curiosity,
the desire, the time and the willingness to share what we learn we are also
eager to write about it. We are undertaking to define a broad list of fraternal
and sororital organizations, support services and less formal communities
in the greater area, to visit them, collect and present useful information about their mission,
style and members. It is not the purpose of this adventure to rate
or rank these organizations, we simply seek to inform.
We anticipate many benefits from this effort. First, our better
informed members can help others better. Second we can forge ties
with other organizations, share information and concerns on an organizational
level. With good ties we can support each other when we have common
cause. Third, by visiting these organizations we can make sure that our
community is more broadly known, and reach more people who need us.
Fourth, we can always learn new ideas and approaches to building a better
group and serving our members needs.
Some pages may deal with professional support facilities for dealing with gender
and sexuality related issues. People may be concerned that such
information constitutes advertising. And information about vendors who are friendly and
supportive could also be seen as advertising. Again, We believe that
collecting and distributing the information is important in itself.
If you find that a link is no longer working or find that a vendor has gone out of business please let us know.
We welcome your comments and suggestions.
