Thanksgiving carries different meanings depending on who you ask. For many queer people, the holiday isn’t about traveling back to a childhood home or squeezing into a packed dining room with relatives they see once a year. Thanksgiving, instead, becomes a celebration of chosen family—those who understand us, support us, and make room for us exactly as we are. This spirit was front and center at the William Way LGBT Community Center in Philadelphia, which hosted one more heartfelt Thanksgiving meal before leaving its longtime home on Spruce Street.
For decades, William Way has been a refuge during the holidays. In an interview with ABC Action News, community member Rick White reflected on what the center has meant to him.
“William Way has meant so much to me, especially during the holidays, since I don’t have many immediate family. It’s so affirming to have a place to go,” he said.
In those few words, he captured why Thanksgiving holds such deep emotional weight for LGBTQ folks who don’t feel connected—or welcomed—by their birth families.
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A Holiday Table Built on Love
The stories that came out of William Way’s final Thanksgiving in its longtime building were deeply human and undeniably queer in the best way. Joshua Wall, originally from Alabama, shared that he couldn’t be with his family this year. “So this is my family today,” he told ABC, standing among people who understood exactly what he meant. Wall even brought a friend along, insisting they avoid anything processed for the holiday. “Let’s have a homemade meal because that feels like home,” he recalled.
Other attendees echoed that sense of comfort and connection. “It feels like family here, and I haven’t even met anybody yet,” Chris Moore said with a laugh. Volunteer Jimmy Orrell, who has lost his biological relatives, admitted,
“I had nowhere to go… so this has kinda become my family.”
These voices paint a picture familiar to so many LGBTQ people: home isn’t always where you came from. Sometimes, home is where you are finally seen.
The center’s volunteers made sure every guest felt held.
“You go home feeling good,” volunteer Santo Guerrera shared. “You set up tables, you serve food, and you just feel good about it.”
And perhaps the sentiment that best sums up the Center’s spirit came once again from Rick White:
“My perception of William Way is this is love, this is home.”
THANKSGIVING DAY: A young man told me he’s skipping Thanksgiving with his extended family because he’s gay and worries his relatives will make comments about him and his Chinese boyfriend. Here’s what he — and others — had to say about talking politics at the table this year. pic.twitter.com/yLvrSoAtvX
— Willie Nelson (@WillieNelsonTV) November 27, 2025
The Community Moves, But Its Heart Stays Put
After nearly 30 years on Spruce Street, the William Way building is being retired due to costly repairs. Move-out is scheduled for December 18, with programming continuing temporarily at St. Luke’s church on South 13th Street. Acting executive director Darius McLean emphasized that the mission remains unchanged.
“We don’t keep our programs and activities contained to these walls,” he explained. “The William Way holiday meals are here to stay.”
Photo Credit: Alexander Grey via Canva.com
On December 25, the team will even be outside on Spruce Street again, handing out to-go Christmas meals for anyone who needs them.
The message is clear: the address may change, but the heart of the community does not.
Thanksgiving According to the Internet’s Queerest Corner
Over on Reddit, LGBTQ users shared how they celebrated Thanksgiving away from biological families—sometimes out of choice, sometimes out of necessity. One couple hosts an annual open home for anyone without a welcoming place to go, building a menu that shifts every year. Last Thanksgiving was hotpot; this year featured scallop and egg fried rice, braised pork, dim sum, and a yet-to-be-determined fish dish.
Others leaned into simplicity. One user spent the day drinking with their boyfriend because their family “doesn’t allow my lifestyle around them.” Another declared their loyalty to Friendsgiving, calling it “so much less travel and stress.” Someone else leaned fully into queer chaos, announcing plans to set up their Christmas tree and cruise on Scruff—earning the supportive reply, “Get your turkey stuffed bruh!”
But many found warmth in unexpected places. One person hosted Thanksgiving at their Unitarian Church for up to 70 people each year, calling the congregation their “adopted family.” Another said they spend the holiday with their boyfriend’s family, who are “1000% more welcoming” than their own.
Wherever You Land, Queer Love Makes the Table Full
Whether you spent Thanksgiving surrounded by chosen or adopted family, curled up with a partner, volunteering for your community, or even scrolling apps between bites of pie, one thing is true: the holiday belongs to you just as much as anyone else. Thanksgiving doesn’t require a biological tie or a traditional table setting. It just asks for love, warmth, and people who accept you without conditions.
Wherever you were this year, we hope your Thanksgiving was filled with joy, support, and the kind of family you choose—because that’s the one that truly feels like home.
REFERENCE: ABC Action News, Reddit