City Of Evanston: Featured Evanstonian: Loren Hassleson

Press release from the City of Evanston:

06/30/2021 11:00 AM

Loren is a trans man who moved from Chicago to Evanston in January of 2020. After getting married to his partner Ashley, the pair chose to live in Evanston, specifically the 5th Ward, because of its diversity and inclusivity. 

After attending a Zoom Town Hall for Evanston Pride, Inc. Loren decided to get involved in the organization's efforts to find, organize and support the full spectrum of local LGBTQIA+ community members and to help amplify LGBTQIA+ voices, and educate the broader Evanston community on LGBTQIA+ issues and needs.

Before moving to Evanston, Loren was a member of T-Mac community group at the Center on Halsted. T-Mac is a peer led community group that discusses and addresses topics related to transmasculine identity. He hopes to become a PEER resource in the Evanston community and looks forward to getting involved with the Evanston Arts Center in the future. 

“To me, Pride means not being afraid to be who I am. Being able to talk about my identity openly and freely,” said Loren. “I am very happy and impressed with Evanston’s openness, diversity and Pride in general. Seeing signs throughout Evanston makes me feel welcomed. I’m excited to get to know new people from the Queer community!”

This press release was produced by the City of Evanston. The views expressed here are the author’s own.