Last Friday marked Wear It Purple Day, and Country Universities Centre (CUC) Far West celebrated the occasion with an event attended by some 25 people that highlighted the centre’s dedication to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community.
Local community radio station 2DryFM broadcasted live and mental health organisation headspace were there to offer resources, all the while those who stopped in could make up pride badges or pack beads for the Rainbow Shoelace Project.
CUC Far West Centre Manager, Sarah Rolton, told the Barrier Truth that while there were no expectations heading into hosting the event, its success was still evident.
“I guess we didn’t really have expectations, we were just trying to provide something that youth had suggested they felt they needed in community. To see such a fantastic turnout today was really heartwarming,” she said.
“There was one point in the in the evening when 2DryFM had a few of the young people conducting interviews and they said that they felt like CUC was a safe and inclusive space. For us, that’s all we can ask for, that’s what this was all about and to show our allyship to queer and rainbow people in Broken Hill.”
For Rainbow Shoelace Project Founder, Abbie Jane, she says Broken Hill businesses and organisations getting behind an event like Wear It Purple was especially important for young people across the region.
“The CUC just held an amazing Wear Purple Day event. I think Wear It Purple Day in itself is such an incredible day for anyone to celebrate, let alone businesses in Broken Hill,” she said.
“Broken Hill is a town that I think lacks a lot of representation and I think being a young, queer person in this town, it can often feel quite isolating and it’s hard to find others like you. But with events like this, days like Wear It Purple Day, it enables you to find your community and it enables you to feel safer and more loved and celebrated.
“Wear It Purple Day in itself is all about expressing yourself and being who you are and I think that this event has captured just that. I really hope that next year it gets held again because it’s really, really important to have events like this and I’m so happy that the CUC took it into their hands to support days like Wear It Purple Day.”
