In June, our Wyoming division, Waller Hall Research (WHR), attended Casper Pride for the first time as Grand Sponsors. Casper Pride, an annual event and the largest Pride event in Wyoming, is a nearly weeklong celebration for the LGBTQI+ community in Natrona County and beyond. This year, over 2,500 attendees participated in events including art exhibitions, picnics, club events, and drag shows. Waller Hall Research collaborated with Casper-based event organizers including Opera Wyoming, The Void Wyoming, Art 321, and Keyhole Burlesque to show their support and spread their message of bringing change to Wyoming by amplifying community voices through data and research. During the main event, “Pride Fest,” on Saturday, June 11th, many Wyomingites visited our team’s booth to enter our raffles, grab our newly designed pride “pronoun buttons” and sign up to participate in WHR’s future studies!
We were giving away WHR Pride Pronoun Buttons like hot cakes!
Waller Hall Research, building friendships across Wyoming
The WHR team at our booth with Mallory Pollock, Chairperson of Casper Pride (Photo: Left to Right: Scott Schwartz, Mallory Pollock, Ralph Nieder-Westermann, Key Sibby).
Waller Hall Research’s involvement with Casper Pride began two years ago during the early stages of the pandemic. Our relationship started by first conducting a needs assessment through a series of virtual focus groups with community members. Out of that project, and through a series of “What If” sessions, Casper Pride applied for and received funds to develop a guide to affirming health services in the county, and to mount an advertising campaign addressing substance usage (alcohol, drug, tobacco) and suicidal ideation in the LGBTQI+ community. WHR will conduct a survey of LGBTQI+ community members in the fall to help evaluate the efficacy of that campaign.
For more information on the Casper Pride Guide, and other resources for the LGBTQI+ community in Wyoming, click here.