Skylight Boutique Takes Pride in Supporting the LGBTQ+ Community

Every day we show the world who we are through what we choose to wear. Color, cut and clothing choice are extremely personal forms of self-expression. For the LGBTQ+ community, particularly the trans community, gender-affirming clothing is transformative.

Dream and Visions, a spiritual sanctuary in Baltimore dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ people through creativity and community, opened the city’s–and, perhaps, the nation’s–first gender-affirming thrift store, Skylight Boutique. Located at 1900 St. Paul Street in a church, the boutique is a project of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  

With a $20,000 grant from Baltimore Community Foundation’s (BCF) Len Jackson Fund for Queer Youth, Dreams and Visions purchased clothing items and store fixtures, hired part-time staff and made needed improvements to the store. This grant opportunity was identified through BCF’s LGBTQ Fund. The LGBTQ Fund provides life-sustaining and life-affirming support for Baltimore’s diverse Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning community, particularly young people.

The store also addresses the critical need for employment and financial sustainability for members of the underserved LGBTQ+ community. The staff embodies the boutique’s mission and are gender-expansive individuals. The majority of staff is underemployed outside the shop, so wages from Skylight Boutique support them and offer hope and possibilities for staff as well as the store’s clientele. 

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Source: Baltimore Community Foundation