Posted
on February 4, 2010, 12:14 PM,
by Glennda Testone,
under Advocacy.
At the Center, we hear many stories. Some depict challenges, injustice and discrimination and others are uplifting and inspiring. Since 1993, the Center’s heard stories from members of our community about how our military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ (DADT) policy resulted in 13,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual people discharged from the military. This policy required LGBT military service members to keep their orientation secret in order to continue serving in the military.
The time to repeal DADT is now! As military officials begin sharing their stories and the press reports the antiquated policy’s impact, it is time for us to be heard. The Associated Press reported that, Adm. Mike Mullen, “The military’s top uniformed officer [...] made an impassioned plea for allowing gays to serve openly in uniform, telling a Senate panel it was a matter of integrity and that it is wrong to force people to ”lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.”
We are inspired by NY Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s project, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Stories and her call for hearings to repeal #DADT in the senate. She started her new website because she “thought that the more stories we could bring to bear into the public discourse, [the more] it will move this debate forward to a place where we will earn the 60 votes we need to repeal it.”
We encourage you to get involved by visiting the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Stories Project, sharing your story and signing their petition.
Posted
on January 25, 2010, 2:21 PM,
by Glennda Testone,
under General.
The weather outside is pretty miserable today: it’s windy and raining. Now inside and drying off at the Center, I’m taking a few minutes to reflect. I sit on the Mayor’s Commission for LGBTQ Runaway and Homeless Youth as the Executive Director of the Center. Last week, we held a public hearing, and I listened to countless LGBT young people speak about being unable to find employment, adequate housing or even enough food. The stories broke my heart. It felt absurd to leave the hearing and go home to my apartment knowing that these youth will divide their time between Starbucks, McDonalds, the Apple store and anywhere else that they can sit and stay warm for a few hours.
It also makes me grateful to run the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. We’re open 365 days a year, most days between 10am-10pm, and I am proud to say we are able to provide a destination for these young people. Here at the Center, I’ve asked the entire staff to think about what the Center is, and what I’ve heard echoed over and over is “the Center is a safe space.”
Our very popular Youth Enrichment Services (YES) program offers over 25 groups a week designed to prepare young people to cope with emotional, social and economic stress. On a daily basis, an average of 52 young people attend Job & Scholarship Hour, Homework Help, and Come In/Step Out support group, as well as paid internships. We know that the need is great, but the Center is working hard to provide a safety net. Our programs are always growing, and I’m continuously in awe when I meet with the YES program and hear what they’re planning next. We’re not alone in this city, and we want our young people to know that. I’m grateful for our colleague organizations –Congregation Beth Simchat Torah (CBST), Ali Forney Center, Hetrick-Martin, GLSEN,to name a few — who are also committed to helping young LGBTQ people.
Watch this video of one of our young community members who recently spoke at a CBST LGBT Youth event
Posted
on January 15, 2010, 3:06 PM,
by Glennda Testone,
under General.
Someone once told me that our community often demonstrates more care-giving than others because we’ve each experienced what it is like to be rejected and not supported. I don’t know if that’s true. I can think of several other communities that consistently express kindness, selflessness and resiliency. The truth is that compassion should not be a competition. In times like this, we all need to care more for others, not less.
Everyone has read about the devastating earthquake in Haiti and the efforts to provide support. Given the generosity of our community, it does not surprise me that the Center has received numerous calls from people who want to know how they can best help. Even at our weekly staff meeting, many expressed a desire to offer support, and we learned that our own Youth Enrichment Services Support Services Coordinator runs the nonprofit Unified for Global Healing. This organization is actively bringing doctors and support to people in Haiti; in fact, doctors from the organization are on the ground now. If you are one of those people who want to know how to help, please go to www.unifiedforglobalhealing.org to make a donation.
Our friends at AID FOR AIDS are also collecting medications that will go towards the relief efforts in Haiti. The Center has an AID FOR AIDS donation drop-off box located by the elevator in our lobby. For more information on the types of medications needed, please visit their website.
Thank you and I wish you all as much compassion as you each demonstrate, every day.
Posted
on January 5, 2010, 5:59 PM,
by Glennda Testone,
under General.
Although I generally don’t have much faith in New Year’s resolutions, it is a new year, and I do plan to not take things for granted, as much. I must say that I feel like I have been relatively fortunate in my life: a good family, great friends, an apartment in a city that I love, and a job that allows me to help others. I do occasionally, as I’m doing now, stop and feel grateful for all of these things. But for me, the one element that is so natural it often goes unnoticed is the fact that I have a safe space to live and thrive.
This came into focus for me, once again, as I continued to read the chilling reports about the “Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009″ in Uganda. This legislation could impose death for Ugandans who engage in “homosexual behavior.” See The New York Times editorial from yesterday for more information. Even though my government does not protect me in all of the ways I know I should be protected, I don’t often think about the fact that my government does not want to kill me for who I am or who I love. Generally, when I walk around NYC holding hands with my girlfriend, I feel safe. These are not things to take for granted; they are to be cherished and protected.
As the Executive Director at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in New York City, I have the privilege of working everyday to help make sure all LGBT New Yorkers have a safe, healthy and happy place to go. This is also not something to take for granted. The fact that we, LGBT New Yorkers have a Center to gather, rejoice, mourn, strategize, organize and act is not even something all Americans can enjoy. For some LGBT New Yorkers, in fact, this is the only place they can be who they are and feel accepted. I, for one, plan to fully appreciate this space and use the energy created here to help lift up our entire community into a better and brighter 2010.
Posted
on December 3, 2009, 5:19 PM,
by Glennda Testone,
under General.
I imagine by now most of you heard the news about the marriage bill in the New York State Senate. Yesterday, the Senate voted 38-24 to continue to deny marriage equality to members of our community. Our allies fought hard for us and made impassioned speeches, but there were not enough allies to pass this bill.
I’m sure that it makes many of you angry. We here at the Center share your anger. The amount of time, documentation and heartache that our families must go through to get the same legal protection that straight couples receive in New York is outrageous. Everyday, we witness the negative consequences this lack of equality has on LGBT people as they walk through our doors. We need equal protection for our families and our entire community. Help us send a message to the New York State Senate that we will continue to fight until we are treated as equal citizens in this state.
WHEN: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM, Thursday, December 3, 2009
WHERE: North End of Union Square (17th Street)
Join the Center and many other organizations and advocates to express our disappointment and demonstrate our unity.
Posted
on December 1, 2009, 6:13 PM,
by Ector Simpson,
under General.
HIV/AIDS organizations across the New York City’s five boroughs, in partnership with The New York City Council, are launching a YouTube-based HIV/AIDS awareness campaign entitled “I Talk Because….” The campaign begins today: World AIDS Day: December 1, 2009, and will continue throughout the year.
“I Talk Because…,” features 30-60 second YouTube video clips of people speaking out about why it’s so important to discuss HIV/AIDS with the people in their lives. We know that open and honest conversations can help prevent new infections and reduce the stigma attached to people living with this disease. Since every 9½ minutes, an American is infected with HIV, we need to better educate ourselves and others about the virus.
Our video was filmed by long-term Center volunteer, Wolfgang Busch. We’re proud to commemorate today, World AIDS Day, with the launch of this video. For more information about World AIDS Day at the Center and in NYC, click here.
On November 16, The New York Timespublished an article about an expert panel’s decision to recommend people start mammography later in life, have mammograms less frequently, not perform self exams and possibly stop getting mammograms after age 75. The panel, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), reviewed data and concluded that the number of lives saved by mammography did not support yearly screening starting at age 40, a reversal of its 2002 recommendations for the test.
The new recommendations largely surprised the breast cancer advocacy community. In this youtube video, The C-Word attendees and speakers express deep concern and determination to keep fighting for our health in response to the USPSTF’s new guidelines about breast cancer screening. Watch the video above.
Posted
on November 11, 2009, 2:41 PM,
by Gender Identity Project,
under General.
GENDA (Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act)
By Aidan Maisonave
I recently sat in on an Empire State Pride Agenda meeting in ALbany and listened to what everyone there had to say regarding the GENDA bill – Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act). By everyone, I mean representatives from different organizations around New York State looking to make a difference by doing what they can to get this bill passed in New York State. For those of you who weren’t even aware of this GENDA bill or who don’t even know what it’s about, not to worry, you are not alone. The Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act is a bill that would protect people who identify as trans or who express their gender as something that is different from the gender they were assigned at birth. Current human rights laws are already in place that protect people in regards to housing, public accommodations, education, jobs…etc, based on their race, age, gender and sexual orientation. But nowhere in that law does it include a person’s gender identity. There are those of us who have had inadequate medical care, have been discriminated against trying to book a hotel room or eating out at a restaurant. We have been harassed at school or fired from work, all because of how we express our gender identity. Transgender people face discrimination on a daily basis, and suffer the injustice silently. Well, it is now time to break that silence. It’s time to make a stand and urge the New York State Legislature to get this bill passed. Write to your senator. Don’t know who that is? Check out this link to find out. This is right off the Empire State Pride Agenda website. The website also has many other helpful resources: what to say to your senator, how to talk to elected officials and other ways you can get involved. If you or someone you now has a story regarding discrimination faced because of gender identity, I invite you to share your voice with your elected official. Feel free to contact me at amaisonave@gaycenter.org and I will forward your information to the appropriate member of ESPA. If these options seem a bit daunting to you, that’s ok. You can help out even by just spreading the word about this bill and informing others to get involved. Let’s not let another year, month, hour, or second, pass without having the protection of this bill made into law. There is still work to be done.
Posted
on November 9, 2009, 5:28 PM,
by Glennda Testone,
under General.
Glennda Testone, Executive Director
It is with the utmost excitement and honor that I begin my first day as the Executive Director of The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. I am simply thrilled to be here, and I am also ready to immediately get to work in leading this landmark institution. The possibilities here at the Center are endless. I have the deepest respect for the Center’s history and am fiercely dedicated to continuing to provide a home for our LGBT community.
Of all the organizations that make a difference, I wanted to work at the Center for a very specific reason. At this point in my life, I first and foremost want to help people, and I have been beyond inspired by the many ways the Center does just that. Leading the Center will allow me the opportunity to guide an organization that changes thousands of lives each week. Whether it is providing support to LGBT families, a safe space for LGBT youth, substance abuse support and HIV/AIDS counseling, or life-affirming cultural programs, the Center helps people in a way that is unparalleled.
I hold the LGBT movement close to my heart. It is who I am, and it represents the people I want to fight for. Every single one of us has the opportunity to be a leader and make changes that have a bold impact on the future of the LGBT movement. As the Center’s Executive Director, I will make that my mission. I will also make it my mission to reach out, engage and empower all of you to be agents of change with me. Through the growing work of the Center, we can do this together.
Whether you’ve visited the Center once or you come regularly, I invite you to take another look at all we have to offer. I ask you to become involved in the life-changing work and programs that take place here every week. I look forward to getting to know all of you, as you are all part of the community I am so proud to represent as the Center’s new Executive Director.
Posted
on November 6, 2009, 1:53 PM,
by Erin Fae,
under General.
In their annual “Essential New York” issue, Time Out New York asked prominent LGBT New Yorkers what they considered to be the essential New York gayborhood. Kate Lowenstein asked our new Executive Director for her opinion:
Glennda Testone, executive director of the LGBT Center:
“[The essential gay neighborhood] is the Village, in my opinion. First, obviously, because the Center is there, which draws LGBT people from all over the country. There is also the historical significance. Finally, the number one question at the front desk of the center is ‘How do I get to Christopher Street?’”
