Our Mission

Collar City Pride is an organization led by LGBTQIA2+ folks providing care, community, and training around substance-use services specific to the queer community. At Collar City Pride, we foster a vibrant and inclusive Rensselaer County that celebrates diversity, promotes acceptance, and empowers LGBTQIA2+ folks.

Through advocacy, education, and training, we strive to create a safe and supportive environment where we can live authentically and thrive. In the long term, we aspire to open Rensselaer County's first inpatient substance use treatment center geared specifically towards transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals.

We are committed to offering LGBTQ+ affirming, peer-based harm reduction services, a yearly pride festival in Troy, and organizing events that promote connection and celebration within our community.

Our Vision

CCP envisions a world where LGBTQIA2+ folks have accessible, affirming, and appropriate substance use care. 

Through our advocacy efforts, educational initiatives, and collaborative partnerships, we strive to build a world where LGBTQ+ individuals and those impacted by addiction can thrive in affirming environments, access quality care and support services, and contribute to a more inclusive and equitable society.

Our Values

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusivity

Racial Justice

Dignity

Continual Improvement

Bodily Autonomy

All Collaboration & No Competition

More Local, Less Corporate

Awareness of Intersectionality

Empathy

Harm Reduction First

Advocacy


TGNCNB (Transgender / Gender Non-Conforming / Non-Binary) folks deserve affirming, accessible, and culturally responsive substance use treatment.

LGBTQ+ folks seeking substance use treatment should not have to choose between treatment and living authentically.

Inpatient substance use treatment centers operate on an outdated binary system. New York has made great strides in creating legislation enshrining TGNCNB policies in law, but we still have work to do.

  • In-patient substance use treatment in New York State is not wholly affirming, accessible, affordable, and consistent for TGNCNB folks so long as centers are gender segregated.

  • The 2021 NYS LGBTQI+ Needs Assessment Community Survey listed substance use as a critical concern for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. National data tells us that LGBTQ+ folks also have a higher risk of experiencing substance use concerns over their lifetime when compared to their cisgender counterparts.

  • When an individual is discriminated against, harassed, misgendered, or misunderstood while accessing substance use treatment services, chances are they will not return for treatment. Leading to relapse, overdose, and even death.

  • We want to fill this service gap. We want to create a substance use treatment center coupled with transitional housing, crafted specifically for TGNCNB clients, with providers who reflect our consumers. A place where our TGNCNB community, as well as the entire LGBTQ+ community in Rensselaer County, can thrive without sacrificing their autonomy, identity, or expression.

  • This is a huge undertaking, to say the least. A project that will take time, effort, and funding. It will require community feedback, community collaboration, and a whole lot of hard work! The beginning of this journey for Collar City Pride starts with Troy’s first pride festival! We all love a great festival, right? But we love it even more when that festival is funding much-needed services.

A photo overlooking Troy, NY from the Hudson river. The image is shaded blue and overlaid with white text that reads "How To Support Collar City Pride."

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