Photo by LexScope on Unsplash
A classic spot in Pittsburgh’s gay scene gave something back to the community this holiday season.
Brewer’s Hotel and Bar is the oldest gay bar in Pittsburgh. According to KDKA2, a Pittsburgh subsidiary of CBS, the bar is celebrated for giving gifts to LGBTQ customers and performers.
Owner Carol Held hosted a Christmas present, an annual event for the bar where LGBTQ people who have been shunned by their families receive hot meals and gifts. The holidays are largely thought of as family time, but many LGBTQ people in the world are forgotten. Luckily, Hero and the bar made sure they stood by them.
“A lot of these people are good people. And I wouldn’t turn my back on any of them, ”said Held.
However, distributing meals and gifts during the coronavirus pandemic is a difficult task. Held says it was difficult, the annual tradition was almost canceled, but she stuck to her guns. And she has her father to thank. You see, the tradition of providing food and space for LGBTQ people began with their father, the original owner of the bar. According to Held, the former residents above the bar were already suffering from AIDS in the 1980s. Her father fed her and sometimes paid for her medicine. That then inspired Carol Held’s annual tradition of giving free food.
We love stories from institutions that go out of their way to support us. At the end of such a tough year for LGBTQ people, it’s good to know that we have a stable and strong ally in Pittsburgh. Many thanks to Carol Held and the Brewer’s Bar.
Source: CBS Pittsburgh,
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