Build a free space in the South Hills of Pittsburgh that’s sober, open late, wheelchair accessible, cozy, queer-friendly, and offers free resources.
A Pittsburgh resource guide on LGBTQIA+ friendly businesses has over a hundred entries, only 5 of which are in the South Hills. All five offer specialty services like salons and personal training. None act as a location where people can gather and build community without the expectation of spending money. In addition to this, there isn’t a single sober meeting place or resource hub in Pittsburgh, queer-friendly or not, that’s open after 10pm.
Our area is in desperate need of a space where queer people can safely gather and also caters to locals who don’t drink, work odd shifts, want to make connections, or need to access free resources like food, home supplies, and clothing after typical cafe hours.
Who Will Benefit Most:
Our Low-Income Neighbors – Times are hard. Free resources are increasingly difficult to come by. Sometimes peoples’ work shifts don’t align with the food banks’ hours. Sometimes people need community in the evening and don’t have the money to buy goods/services to grant them entry. Low income folks deserve spaces to just exist without worrying about if their card will bounce.
People With Limited Transportation – There’s limited places to go at night on the T line, none of which are sober or explicitly queer spaces. Every other queer space in the city requires multiple public transit transfers from the South Hills. Even if you drive, there’s a tunnel, bridge (or two), and interstates in the way.
People With Limited Mobility – Because of our hills Pittsburgh is largely NOT wheelchair friendly. As an ambulatory wheelchair user myself, I’m all too familiar with this fact. Very few existing queer spaces offer full wheelchair accessibility… If you can get there to begin with.
People Who Don’t Drink – If you don’t like being in bars, for whatever reason, there’s nowhere else to go after 10pm.
Local LGBTQIA+ Community – Every queer person in the South Hills is familiar with either the haul to the East End, or the isolated feeling of that area being inaccessible.
That Doesn’t Sound Profitable:
Its not meant to be! Nightshade Tea Lounge is a 501(c)3 non-profit! We’re not in this to make money. We’re in it to bring people together and provide support for those who need it.
What We’re Doing Until Then:
We’ve been working hard on online resources that can still fulfil parts of our mission!
Our biggest projects right now are:
– A resource guide for queer-friendly small businesses from Allentown to WV
– A calendar of events in our area that tend to attract an LGBTQIA+ crowd (and the occasional queer-focused one!)
– Distributing free post-op care packages with a special focus on celebrating gender-affirming surgeries
– And working with other local small businesses to plan gatherings all around the South Hills!
Antiques
Dim lights
Soft music
Big comfy chairs
Ornamental rugs
Free tea & pastries
Free pantry & supplies
Think of the programs/resources provided by a community center
but held in a Victorian library after dark
IMAGINE THIS:
Its midnight, you just got off the late shift and didn’t want to be alone. Bars are high energy and you don’t want to be around alcohol. You text your best friend to meet you at Nightshade for a couple hours.
While you’re waiting for your herbal tea to steep and humming along to the gentle music, your best friend comes in and plops down on the other side of the plush floral print couch. Your stomach grumbles. You’re snapped back to reality as you remember the fridge at home is empty. The grocery stores are closed by now. Not that you have the money anyway. While your friend is distracted by something on Instagram you glide into the back room to grab a couple pantry items. You grab what you need, stuff them into your backpack, and duck under the curtain back to the main room.
The person behind the counter sees you and asks if you prefer muffins or scones. They hand you a muffin with your tea and remind you that payment is optional; not required.
You’re washed over by calm again as you sit back down. You have tea, a snack, your best friend, enough food to get you through the next day, and a safe warm glow to escape the night. You’re allowed to just exist for a while.
We’re a small group of queer and trans folks in our 30s living across Pittsburgh’s South Hills! Working with queer non-profits has inspired us to create the space we always wished existed in Pittsburgh! Throwing our vast range of professional expertise together, we’re so excited to bring this project to life & to build up and support our own local community!
Our experience includes 10-20 years each volunteering with non-profits across the country, including 3+ years each in Pittsburgh-based LGBTQIA+ organizations (including some executive positions). We’ve also worked in finance, small business management, food service, construction (useful in ADA renovations!), and various artistic endeavors.
All of this adds up to a brilliant combination of skills that we’re going to use to make a beautiful space… Even on a shoestring non-profit budget. We can’t wait to meet you at a mixer and one day open Nightshade’s doors to the community!