Love and joy from Love Lives Here!

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Wishing you all the best this season and in the new year!

When this year began, we had no idea what was ahead. We knew we would throw some fantastic parties to bring the community together, but we had no idea how we would be called upon to support for people who were being marginalized.

Thanks to you, we have been able to respond quickly when local LGBTQ folks, our Jewish community, our Indigenous neighbors, and others needed us most. If you want to see all that we accomplished this year, please read below. It’s an amazing list of accomplishments!

There’s still time to make a donation toward our work in 2019! You can mail a check to Love Lives Here, PO Box 204, Whitefish, Montana 59937, or click here to contribute online.

If you missed our annual celebration this month, check out the photos here. It was a fantastic way to remember everything we did and everyone who cares about equality and justice in the Flathead Valley!



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Love Lives Here in 2018

The Flathead LGBT+ Youth

Our proudest achievement this year has been the launch of the Flathead LGBT+ Youth, a student-run group for gender diverse teens in the valley. They meet weekly to offer each other support, talk about issues like bullying that LGBTQ teens face… and they laugh a lot.


After only a few months after their first meeting, these students were attacked in a featured editorial in a local newspaper. We are so grateful to everyone who surrounded these students encouragement and love afterward. In 2019, we’re planning to give these students more training to be educators and advocates in the community.

Public events

Love Lives Here started the year with our annual MLK Celebration, and we kept moving ahead with these events:

  • The Women’s March

  • Fundraiser for All Families Healthcare

  • Flat Out Pride Celebration

  • Peaceful rallies in support of immigrant families

  • Montana Undivided event for human rights and public lands

  • Northwest Rodeo and Fair parade

  • Kalispell Together block party at the Kalispell ImagineIF Library

In each of these situations, we gave the community an opening to choose unity over division. We affirmed together that everyone has the right to live, work, and play in safety in the Flathead Valley.

Community relationships

More events mean that we’re in the public eye. We’re taking those opportunities to develop stronger relationships with key organizations all over the valley. We’re grateful for the connections we’ve made with:

  • The ImagineIF Libraries

  • The Kalispell Police Department

  • The Montana Wilderness Association

  • Explore Whitefish

  • Teachers in the Kalispell School District 5

  • Local clergy members


What’s ahead in 2019?

- Training session for teachers on LGBTQ+ students

- Film series raising awareness on refugee issues

- Raising awareness on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

- 10-year anniversary celebration

- Community-wide LGBTQ Pride Event

- Participation in the Fourth of July Parade

- Finding an office and meeting space for Love Lives Here

- Ongoing rapid responses to discrimination in the Flathead Valley




Cherilyn DeVries