Delaware
Former CAMP Rehoboth director launches Sussex Pride
Non-profit to focus on ‘the folks who really need help the most’

Sussex Pride, a new LGBTQ organization based in southern Delaware, announced its official launch last Friday in a press release from its founding board of directors. The nonprofit looks to serve Sussex County and the state as a whole through yearlong LGBTQ programming and advocacy.
David Mariner, Sussex Pride founder and director, began to conceptualize the organization after noticing disparities in access to LGBTQ resources among different communities in Sussex County.
While Rehoboth Beach already has resources for LGBTQ community members, that is not the case for the entire county, he said. Many areas surrounding the beachside hub experience the “greatest need” for advocacy and resources, yet face the largest accessibility barriers.
“What I wanted to do is connect with some amazing activists from across the county, and really see: Is there a way we could create a new organization that centers the needs of those folks,” he said.
The organization’s board of directors includes members from different backgrounds who can help contextualize the diverse experiences of LGBTQ community members across the county, he added.
For Sussex Pride, recognizing and addressing the needs of underrepresented communities also means speaking with individuals from those communities directly. The organization will conduct a county-wide assessment to determine areas of community need, paying particular focus to the needs of “LGBTQ youth, transgender and nonbinary individuals, LGBTQ People of Color, LGBTQ seniors, and those living in more rural areas of our state,” the press release read.
Mariner launched Sussex Pride shortly after stepping down from his role as executive director of nearby LGBTQ nonprofit CAMP Rehoboth on May 31 — a position he began in 2019. According to Mariner, Sussex Pride is interested in working with CAMP Rehoboth in the future.
“I enjoyed my time at CAMP Rehoboth,” he noted. “I certainly hope there’s opportunities for us to collaborate.”
Wesley Combs, president of CAMP Rehoboth, echoed Mariner’s sentiments, noting that he hopes the two organizations will have a collaborative relationship.
“We welcome more support for the LGBTQ community in Delaware and look forward to learning more about what Sussex Pride will be doing,” he said. “We are always interested in partnering with other organizations who share our values and are committed to creating a more positive Rehoboth as well as a more positive Sussex County and beyond.”
Jamie McKenna, a Sussex Pride board member, noted that bringing a new LGBTQ organization to Sussex County is not an indictment against those already in place, but instead a way to expand resources and make them more accessible. “I don’t think any one organization can adequately represent our entire community,” she said.
Kathy Carpenter Brown, another Sussex Pride board member, noted that there is currently a lack of trans-specific resources among local LGBTQ organizations, which the new nonprofit hopes to remedy.
In 2017, Carpenter Brown founded Rehoboth TransLiance, a social group for transgender and gender diverse individuals in the Rehoboth Beach area. Through social events and educational resources, the organization has worked to create space for gender diverse Delawareans in areas where, previously, it might not have existed.
Carpenter Brown noted that her involvement with the organization led Mariner to invite her to get involved with Sussex Pride. When asked to join the organization, “I brought a few friends along with me,” she added, referring to other trans women on the board of directors.
Rehoboth TransLiance will now find a home as a subgroup of Sussex Pride, working on the forefront of its trans-specific programming, Carpenter Brown said. The organization will continue to create events and resources for the Sussex County trans community, and has secured an office and meeting space in a local church, she added.
When it comes to Sussex Pride’s motivations for creating trans-specific resources, “I don’t think it’s useful to look at it as [doing] what CAMP Rehoboth doesn’t do,” McKenna added. “Almost nobody does it anywhere, and we’re trying to bring something new or, at least, something relatively rare.”
For Carpenter Brown, the top priority in supporting local trans community members is clear: creating a local trans-inclusive and gender-affirming healthcare facility. She pointed to the attention TransLiance’s table at Delaware Pride received as evidence of a deep community need for trans-specific education and healthcare resources.
“There are so many people out there with questions, so many people looking for support, and they just don’t know where to find it,” she explained. “I know this area is known as a liberal area … but we really have no resources.”
“We don’t have the healthcare that we need. We don’t have the education that we need,” she added. “We don’t have the doctors, therapists and psychologists and all the things that the state and federal government requires us to have in order to get the healthcare we need.”
McKenna echoed Carpenter Brown’s sentiments, noting that the barriers she experiences accessing healthcare might outright prevent other trans individuals from accessing important medical services.
“I go up to Philadelphia to get my hormones, my basic medical care. There’s really nowhere around here that people can go,” she explained. “I’m lucky enough to have the resources where I can get up there, but a lot of people around here don’t. If you’re some 19-year-old trans kid just coming out, you might as well be on the moon trying to get care out here.”
Nicholas Lee, another Sussex Pride board member, noted that living in Lewes, Del., has made accessing LGBTQ resources in Rehoboth Beach more challenging, even though the two towns are in the same county. “We don’t have the best transportation system,” and “we don’t have a particular central location,” he explained.
Carpenter Brown said that she would like to create the healthcare facility as well as a trans community center in Georgetown, Del. — a location central to the county and more accessible to those from rural areas than coastal towns.
“When the opportunity came to set up a nonprofit that can help all Sussex County, I got excited,” Lee said. He noted that the name ‘Sussex Pride’ demonstrates the organization’s underlying goal to help “the whole entire community,” which requires “broadening” current LGBTQ resources to more directly consider the needs of local rural communities.
“I think in the big picture, it’s important to have an organization that people feel welcome in, in terms of the whole community,” he added.
While the nonprofit is still in the early stages of development, it has a “wonderful group of people who are now donating monthly to sustain its work,” Mariner said. The organization will also be “looking at a wide variety of funding sources in the near future.”
Mariner pointed to the experiences of a young woman he met last year as further evidence of a deep need for LGBTQ resources in rural communities across Sussex County.
“Her family discovered that she was a lesbian and kicked her out of their home. For a couple months, they didn’t talk to her,” he explained. “I’m not familiar with that happening in Rehoboth Beach, but I know it happens in other parts of the county on a regular basis.”
For Mariner, it is stories like those that affirm the importance of Sussex Pride — an organization that will focus on “the folks who really need help the most.”
Sussex Pride will host its first in-person event, a bus trip to the New York City Pride Parade, on June 26. For more information, visit sussexpride.org.
Delaware
Wilmington, Del. leaders paint city’s first rainbow crosswalk
Mayor John Carney signs Pride proclamation

Wilmington, Del. city leaders and community members gathered to paint the first rainbow crosswalk in the city on June 24, after Mayor John Carney signed a proclamation to declare June as Pride month.
The crosswalk was painted at the intersection of 6th and Union Streets near Crimson Moon, the only LGBTQ bar in New Castle County.
“This is not just paint on pavement — it’s a statement,” said Mayor Carney. “This crosswalk is a symbol of visibility and belonging. It reflects our promise that Wilmington is a place where everyone, regardless of who they are or who they love, should feel safe, seen, and supported.”
After the signing, the mayor joined At-Large City Council members Latisha Bracy and James Spadola, the Public Works Department, LGBTQ leaders, and community advocates in painting the crosswalk vibrant rainbow colors.
Mayor Carney said Council member Bracy helped “lead the charge” of this initiative in an Instagram post. At the event, Brady said the crosswalk was “a long time coming” and that it had been requested several years ago but did not get done until now.
“There’s nothing more American than letting people be who they are,” Council member Spadola said during the proclamation ceremony.
The Delaware Pride Festival in Dover lost 57% of its corporate funding this year, according to The News Journal, due to backlash over diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
Delaware is currently pushing legislation to codify same-sex marriage into the state Constitution. The amendment passed through the Senate on June 10 and is awaiting consideration from the House.
Delaware
Del. governor signs order to protect gender-affirming care
Directive to safeguard personal data of patients, providers

Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer signed an executive order to protect gender-affirming care on June 20 at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center, followed by the first meeting of the newly formed LGBTQ commission, which will work to protect the rights of LGBTQ Delawareans.
Executive Order 11 makes Delaware a shield state for providers of gender-affirming care. It prohibits state agencies from cooperating with investigations, subpoenas, or legal actions by other states against individuals or providers involved in care that is legal in Delaware.
Gender-affirming care refers to a range of medical, psychological, and social services that are designed to support transgender and nonbinary individuals towards aligning their outward characteristics with their gender identity.
“Across the country, people are being punished for seeking or providing gender-affirming care,” said Meyer in a press release. “In Delaware, we cherish privacy, dignity, and the right to make personal medical decisions. Everyone deserves the freedom to access healthcare rooted in science and compassion.”
CAMP Rehoboth Communications Director Matty Brown said the center was “honored” to be the location for the signing. He said the atmosphere was “emotionally charged” and “joyous” with many “tears of joy.”
“CAMP Rehoboth applauds this executive order,” Brown told the Washington Blade. “This is a clear signal to all Delawareans that all are welcome to thrive here … We know that medical care should be between the provider and the patient, so we are so excited to see Gov. Meyer uphold that.”
State Rep. DeShanna Neal spoke at the event and told a story of her fight with the state to get gender-affirming care for her trans daughter.
“I want to thank Gov. Meyer for his actions today and helping me keep a 20-year promise to my daughter and all the families that this fight has helped,” said Neal.
At least 14 other states and D.C. have passed similar protective laws designed to shield providers and patients from laws in states where gender-affirming care is restricted or criminalized.
“Transgender Delawareans and those traveling here for care can now breathe a little easier,” said Cora Castle, chair of the LGBTQ Commission. “This executive order reflects what science and medical experts have made clear for years: gender-affirming care is lifesaving. It also shows what happens when people with lived experience are trusted to help shape policy — we lead with both empathy and evidence. Delaware is proving what it means to protect all its people.”

Milton, Del., will host its Pride Fest this Saturday with the theme “Small Town, Big Heart.” The town’s population of just over 3,000 is in its sixth year hosting Pride.
The event is hosted by Sussex Pride and Milton Theatre and will take place from 4-8 p.m. in the area surrounding the theater. Admission is pay-what-you-can and proceeds will support the Milton Theatre’s education wing campaign, an initiative dedicated to expanding arts education and creating spaces for the next generation of performers and artists.
The musical act schedule includes Goldstar at 4 p.m., Magnolia Applebottom and Friends at 5:30 p.m., and Mama’s Blacksheep at 6:45 p.m. There will be vendors, food trucks, and a Kids Fest with an inflatable obstacle course.
“In our little corner of the world, LOVE leads the way! Milton Pride 2025 is a celebration for EVERYONE — neighbors, families, allies, and friends — because acceptance, kindness, and community belong to us all,” Milton Theatre’s website reads. “Whether you’re here to cheer, learn, or simply feel the joy … you’re welcome exactly as you are. Let’s come together and celebrate Milton, a SMALL TOWN … with a BIG HEART!”
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