Haverhill Proclaims Pride Month; Students Share Experiences and Police Introduce Liaison

Haverhill launched LGBTQ+ Pride Month Thursday with a flag raising at City Hall, students speaking of their experiences and quests to make a difference and the launch of a Haverhill Police liaison unit.Haverhill City Councilor Thomas J. Sullivan served as master of ceremonies outside of City Hall where Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini read his proclamation, declaring Pride month in Haverhill. The event observes a tradition commemorating the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City. This year, the ceremony rose above mere talking points with the introduction of Haverhill Police Departments’ LGBTQ+ Liaison Unit, led by Officer Desiray Caracoglia.“We want all who identify with the LGBTQ+ community to know that Haverhill is devoted to creating a safe space for all, no matter race, gender identity or sexual orientation. We’re here to lend you a helping hand and to simply just listen to your concerns. As of today, we officially launch our LGBTQ+ Liaison Unit,” she saidCaracoglia noted work on the unit has been underway for the past six months and that she and Officers Penny Portalla and Nicholas Depina all have strong ties to the community. She outlined the mission of the unit and stated its commitment.“We respect and appreciate the diversity of our community and want all individuals to feel confident when reporting crime. The liaison officers in this position will provide guidance and resources to the community, help create an inclusive workplace and work closely with community members to discuss any LGBTQ-related issues,” she said.Caracoglia said a page is available within haverhillpolice.com that includes biographies of liaison officers and a resource guide.Haverhill Public Schools health instructor Lori Curry, who has worked 30 years in all four city middle schools, introduced two former Caleb Dustin Hunking School students who spoke of their challenges and successes.Chelsea Daigle, who is going into her senior year at Suffolk University, discussed the significance of the rainbow Pride flag, developed by Gilbert Baker and first unfurled at the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom Day Parade in 1978.“A rainbow can mean really just about anything, to anyone—hope, joy, luck, happiness, love, friendship, a promise that there’s light after a storm,” she explained.Another former student, Patrick Sainato, created the Gender Sexuality Alliance at Hunking School and went on to become the first openly gay class president at Haverhill High School. He discussed the importance of the biweekly Alliance meetings.“One example of activities that we did was everyone wrote anonymous lists of an example of discrimination that they experienced and I read them out in front of the class. This activity was particularly touching because it revealed exactly how much the students needed a place to feel supported and care for,” he said.Sainato, a student at Northern Essex Community College who plans to transfer to UMass Dartmouth on the way to becoming a physician, said legislative hate campaigns, especially in the south, introduced 549 anti-transgender bills this year. He said those efforts “underscores the importance of this ceremony.”To the contrary, state Sen. Barry R. Finegold reflected on Massachusetts’s record as offering civil rights protections as early as 1990 and being the first state in the national to permit same-sex marriage.“Our work is not done and I think it is really important that as we raise this flag today, I will be thinking about how far gay rights have come, but just how far we still have to go,” he said.Support the show