OUR STORIES

Hello, lovely humans! Growing up, I was raised in a rather conservative and very Catholic world. In that world, I was taught that “pride” was something to avoid. Pride always carried a negative connotation, something a person should never hold within themselves. I was taught that all good things came from God, never from ourselves. This belief was affirmed over and over throughout much of my life, even through college, when I first came out as a queer person. When I entere

By Anthony Hello, lovely humans! This year, Heart of Winona celebrates two years of building affirming, joyful, and sustainable LGBTQIA+ community in Winona! What began as a vision has grown into consistent programming, partnerships, and spaces where people can gather safely and authentically. None of this happens without you; the volunteers, donors, collaborators, and community members who continue to show up and invest in this work. This past November, we reached a major

It is no secret that our world is getting a little scarier and that hope is becoming harder to find and harder to hold onto. I know this personally. I’ve had to work through a level of fear I haven’t experienced in a very long time. It’s rough out in these streets, and right now, it doesn’t feel like things are going to get easier any time soon. In moments like these, it’s important to pause and ask ourselves: what does resistance actually look like? Resistance isn’t only t