GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Municipal Equality Index granted Grand Rapids its first-ever perfect score in 2023, moving up 6 points from 94 in 2022.
"I've been in Grand Rapids a while now, and I can definitely feel a difference. It's definitely, you know, better than it used to be for sure," said Jazz McKinney, executive director of Grand Rapids Pride Center.
According to its website: "The MEI examines how inclusive municipal laws, policies, and services are of LGBTQ+ people who live and work there. Cities are rated based on non-discrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement and leadership on LGBTQ+ equality."
The index scored 506 cities total, 129 of which scored a perfect 100. Out of the 11 cities analyzed in Michigan, three others received a perfect score, all on the east side: Detroit, Ferndale and Ann Arbor.
In West Michigan, Traverse City and Kalamazoo received an 86.
"We may have got 100, but we definitely have a ways to go to actually fulfilling what we say we need to do in order to protect and have our LGBTQ+ community be safe," McKinney said.
However, Grand Rapids' "perfect score" isn't without room for improvement. The Index awarded the city extra "flex" points in multiple categories, including being in a state that protects youth from conversion therapy and having openly LGBTQ+ elected leaders.
"If you even break it down, we got some points that the city doesn't have a policy, but we still got points because the state of Michigan does," McKinney said.
Those bonus points means the city lost points in other categories, scoring a zero out of eight in transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits. McKinney said that's at the top of the Pride Center's priorities for 2024.
"That's the biggest thing top of mind for me is making sure that everyone is taken care of, but particularly are those healthcare benefits, because they're super vulnerable," McKinney said about the transgender community.
They added that unhoused people are especially needing support.
"I know that there are still a lot of people out there suffering," McKinney said. "Our unstably housed population is still heavily LGBTQ plus folks, heavily people of color. You know, our youth are super vulnerable. Our elders are super vulnerable."
The Grand Rapids Pride Center offers many educational resources to the community, including a Health Equity Program.
You can find the full breakdown of Grand Rapids' scorecard here.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or X/Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.