You don’t usually think of a party and cancer in the same sentence. But the American Cancer Diversity Initiative is fighting the prevalence of cancer, as well  as the reluctance toward early screening for cancer, in the LGBT community in a variety of ways. One way is with the upcoming February 13^th Encore for Hope Bash.  “Our view is to raise money for the ACS diversity initiative – and all the important work we are doing — and have a great time while we’re doing it,” says Erica Blum, Manager, Distinguished events. 

The American Cancer Society is full of ideas for helping the LGBT community. Myrna Duarte and Erica Blum, both tireless advocates of the American Cancer Society (ACS) Diversity Initiative, are working hard to minimize the spread of cancer in the LGBT community.  These initiatives will be celebrated (and supported) at this pre-Valentine’s day party at Club 57, Providence NYC, 311 West 57^th Street, 6:30-10:30 PM.

The Encore for Hope Event will be fun filled with cocktails, and hors d’oeuvres flowing, while supporters take in stellar performances donated in support of the American Cancer Society’s efforts within the LGBT Community. Comedienne Judy Gold will be the emcee and Joey Aries, singer, comedian, performance artist and drag queen will be a starring act. Other notable celebrities and entertainers are The New York City  Gay Men’s Chorus, The Ben Allison Band, Sherry Vine, 2 To Fly Aerial, Manila Luzon, Sahara Davenport and celebrity DJ Choimatic.         

Lung cancer turns out to be one of the high risk cancers for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. “The smoking statistics for the LGBT population are staggering,” explains Myna Duarte, Director of Diversity Initiatives for ACS. LGBT youth have tobacco use rates as high as 59% vs 35% of non LGBT teens. “It is critical that we get to the teens before they become lifelong smokers,” says Duarte.

The American Cancer Society has launched QuitBuddy-a texting tool to help smokers kick the habit. Smokers who feel the need to light up simply send a text to their QuitBuddy and receive a text back with a tip to help them fight the urge to smoke. “Our hope is that together with our partners, we can get this tool out to the community and help lower those statistics. We need to communicate the same way the teens do. By text.” You can sign up here. 

Another challenge for the ACS diversity team is stressing the importance of early detection and screening to the LGBT community. Duarte explains, “ Lesbian and bisexual women often do not have health insurance that covers unmarried partners. Another issue is that gay and bisexual women fear discrimination and insensitivity by healthcare providers.”  With lower screening rates, cancer is often detected at later stages when it is much more difficult to treat. A common misconception by gay women and often their physicians, is the that Human Papillomavirus, HPV, which is one of the causes of cervical cancer, is not a necessary screening test for gay women.  HPV can be spread from woman to woman just as with heterosexual contact.

Many gay  and bisexual men have the same fear of discrimination as lesbians and bisexual women, and therefore they also tend not to seek consistent screening.

Transgender people have the highest incidence of lack of insurance, and therefore screening. The New York City department of health reported in a study done in 1999 that 21% of transgender people had no health insurance of any kind. To make things worse for this population, health insurance does not cover appropriate cancer screening. Transgender people have a high rate of an array of cancers — from Lung to liver cancer. The risk becomes even higher if HIV is in the mix.

American Cancer Society’s mission aims to ensure that nobody is left behind. They offer everything from survivors helping other survivors, treatment transportation funding, wig programs and more. All of these offerings are available to the LGBT community and you can learn more about it at the event, while having a great time. Don’t miss this important way to support the community and give greater meaning to the word “love” this Valentine’s Day.

VC August is the Author of The Healing Hour, a book “about love, hope and healing the heart, soul, and spirit when faced with life-changing struggles,” including Cancer.

Breaking equality news from California today.  As reported by Metro Weekly’s Chris Geidner:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today affirmed the August 2010 decision by U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker that California’s 2008 amendment banning same-sex couples from marriage is unconstitutional, deciding the case on narrow grounds relating to the facts of the amendment’s impact, which the court notes was to “eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California..

The case, Perry v. Brown, was brought by the American Foundation for Equal Rights and featured a contrasting team of lawyers — the conservative Ted Olson and liberal David Boies — who waged a high-stakes trial in January 2010 and a high-profile public campaign to advance the cause of marriage equality.In today’s decision, Judge Stephen Reinhardt writes for the court:

“We consider whether that amendment violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. We conclude that it does.”

You can read more about this historic ruling in favor of full equality for same-sex couples by linking to The American Foundation for Equal Rights.  The Center congratulates all of the people who worked tirelessly to make this a reality and looks forward to further efforts to keep this ruling in place!

When I signed up to blog the Center’s January Second Tuesday Lecture Series featuring author Michael Schiavi disusing Celluloid Activist: The Life and Times of Vito Russo, I knew two things about Russo. First, the Center’s library was co-named after him. Second, he wrote the book The Celluloid Closet, which I had read portions of and had seen the film.

What I did not know was that he also co-founded Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) as well as ACT-UP. He was a constant, and key, fighter for the gay community from shortly after Stonewall until is death in 1990. The Celluloid Closet was a sizeable part of his activism as he documented the effect of the horrible way Hollywood portrayed gays was having on the gay community.

Schiavi’s biography looks at Russo’s life from his days growing up in East Harlem through his years researching and giving Celluloid Closet lectures and into the era of AIDS and his death.

Schiavi said that Russo was very out of place in East Harlem since he was “very intelligent, very articulate, often effeminate and shy. He suffered a lot at the hands of bullies.” It’s no surprise with that going on that he escaped into movies.

“There is no bigger film queen in history than Vito Russo,” said Schiavi.

Russo spent high school and college in New Jersey, but he escaped back to NYC as soon as he could after his graduation in 1968. The following year he witnessed the Stonewall Riots from a spot above the confrontation, in a tree. Schiavi said that violence scared Russo, but he wanted to see what was happening since gay people fighting back was unheard of at the time.

It was another incident, the raid on The Snake Pit, a West Village gay bar, on March 8, 1970, that brought Russo fully into activism. He joined up with the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) after talking with a GAA member at a vigil for a young man who was impaled on a fence trying to escape from a police station.

According to Schiavi, Russo loved the GAA because it was loud and theatrical, staging “zaps,” demonstrations that targeted homophobes. While at GAA, Russo created both a Cabaret Night, where singers could sing love songs to their own gender, and Film Night.

Film night showed mainstream movies, as well as gay cinema. Russo thought he could make movie night into a lecture tour discussing how Hollywood treated gay characters. The Celluloid Closet was born as a twenty-minute lecture he gave to college groups. He knew he needed more material than that though. The twenty minutes grew to more than three hours by the time of his death in 1990.

“Vito would see a film and know why his life on the street was hell because of how the gay characters were portrayed,” said Schiavi.

From the lectures, the first edition of the book was published in 1981. Between 1973 and 1981 he was all over the world giving the lecture. There was such a demand that the book went to a second printing. However, the book quickly became dated as the first news story about AIDS broke the same week The Celluloid Closet was released.

In the wake of AIDS, Russo watched gay portrayal at the moves deteriorate further, especially in teen movies which became increasingly homophobic. He pointed to an almost mandatory use of the word “faggot” that taught teens that it was okay to use that language and to hate.

In the wake of how society was reacting to AIDS, as well as his own diagnosis, Russo took on three projects. He co-founded GLAAD to battle how gays were represented in the media. He revised The Celluloid Closet to discuss how movies portrayed AIDS (that edition was released in 1987). Also in ’87 he joined with Larry Kramer and others in the formation of ACT UP.

For Russo, GLAAD was a way for all instances of homophobia in the media to be met with a loud response. Meanwhile, ACT UP was a way to get laws changed. According to Schiavi, Russo gave one of the most, if not the most, famous of the ACT UP speeches in October 1988 at the headquarters of the Food and Drug Administration in Washington, DC.

Words from that speech still resound today: “Someday, the AIDS crisis will be over. Remember that. And when that day comes — when that day has come and gone, there’ll be people alive on this earth — gay people and straight people, men and women, black and white, who will hear the story that once there was a terrible disease in this country and all over the world, and that a brave group of people stood up and fought and, in some cases, gave their lives, so that other people might live and be free.”

Schiavi showed a clip of Russo giving the FDA speech. It was emotional for some audience members as there were some of Russo’s friends, people who had worked with him at various organizations, and some who had heard him speak. It shows the impact Russo’s words and actions carry more than 20 years later.

Lesbian Cancer Initiative (LCI) Coordinator Cristina Moldow, Gender Identity Project Community Prevention Coordinator Cristina Herrera, and LCI Intern Kaz Mitchell

At a recent joint City Council hearing held by the Committee on Civil Rights and Committee on Health, two Center staff members and an intern testified in favor of strong LGBT cultural competency training in New York City’s public hospitals. Gender Identity Project Community Prevention Coordinator Cristina Herrera, Lesbian Cancer Initiative (LCI) Coordinator Cristina Moldow, and LCI Intern Kaz Mitchell all urged the City Council to support and bolster efforts by New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) to require trainings that ensure all LGBT people are treated with the utmost respect in city hospitals, and develop robust standards to evaluate the progress of such endeavors.

As Herrera, Moldow and Mitchell all noted:

“LGBT people underutilize care largely due to fear of, and past experiences of discrimination and mistreatment.  A long-standing community history of violence and abuse has left many community members mistrusting, especially where physical contact is concerned. Oftentimes it’s difficult for people to find a medical provider who has experience working with LGBT patients, let alone a comfort level.”

Our Center advocates stressed the vital need for respectful, patient-centered and culturally competent healthcare services for the thousands of LGBT patients served by public hospitals and community health centers every year; they also offered the Center’s continued expertise and resources to help make this a reality.  The Center is pleased to help the city in its efforts to make New York City public hospitals safe, welcoming settings for all LGBT people.

 

This week our Director of Center Wellness Andres Hoyos, joined two Center clients in testifying before New York City Council’s Committee on Immigration. The legislative body was specifically looking into how NYC immigrants are treated in detention centers and considering two resolutions. 

One resolution “urges the United States Department of Homeland Security to investigate abuse allegations and take action to ensure the safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender immigrants in the custody of the United States Department of Homeland Security.” The other “calls upon the 112^th United States Congress to pass, and the President to sign, the Immigration Oversight and Fairness Act (H.R. 933), to reform immigration detention procedures and help ensure more just detention policies and procedures.”

Hoyos pointed out the often brutal conditions facing LGBT immigrants in custody:

The LGBT immigrants that seek services at the Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Transgender Community Center tell us stories of the abuse they have suffered at detention centers. Their complaints span from verbal abuse, to excessive force, to sexual assault by fellow detainees and prison officers. Denial of adequate medical care is also widespread and includes medical treatment for detainees living with HIV, and hormone therapy for transgender immigrant detainees. The lack of enforceable regulations providing required care to LGBT immigrant detainees is obvious. Both, the federal and the local administrations have failed to adequately address LGBT immigration detention conditions.

Two clients we have served at the Center also testified about the poor treatment they encountered in detention centers.

Cecilia Gentili is a transgender immigrant from Argentina who faced both physical and verbal abuse in correctional facilities before she was ultimately granted asylum after being in this country for 10 years.

In January 2001 I came to the US from Argentina escaping from oppression, discrimination and stigma against transgender people. At that time I had already developed an unhealthy mechanism to cope with all the abuse experienced in my country of origin: drugs.

The uncertainties about my legal situation in this country, the very low self-esteem, and the inability to deal with my past didn’t help and my problem escalated.

I was arrested for drug possession four times and each arrest  was a very painful experience. Police officers made fun of me and I was verbally abused in the precincts. One time, before facing the judge, I was forced to have sex with an officer. When I tried to report it to my lawyer, she totally overlooked it and talked me into “taking care of getting me released,” instead.

After my last arrest I was sent to Rikers Island, where things did not go any better. A transgender woman already in the process of transition, I was placed with men and experienced physical and verbal abuse by other inmates that was absolutely ignored by the guards. It seemed more like an amusement for them.  I also received no treatment for heroine withdrawals for several days.

During those days my legal situation came up and I was sent to the Immigration Detention Center on Varick Street in Manhattan. I was put in isolation. My emotions and mental state where severely compromised.

Luckily Ms. Gentili has been able to overcome the immense obstacles she faced, but many LGBT immigrants are not as fortunate.  She urged the the City Council committee not to forget her harrowing story.

Another Center client, David Williams relayed the poor conditions he encountered at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility (BFDF), in Batavia, New York

There was inadequate rationing of clothing and hygiene supplies; poor quality food; constant toilet privacy violations; ‘double bunking’ with newly sentenced or pending sentencing federal prisoners (who usually started violent fights); freezing cold water in the showers; no proper medical treatment or availability; and cell blocks that contained segregated prisoners who required round the clock transport back and forth to their cells.

During his testimony Andres Hoyos gave the committee his recommendations for fixing the current system:

1.    Provide funding for awareness campaigns that inform LGBT immigrants about their rights and connect them to services as soon as they arrive in the United States.

2.    Ensure that voices of LGBT immigrants are heard within the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA). Encourage the creation of a LGBT immigrant committee within the MOIA whose job will be to ensure that all literature created by the MOIA is inclusive of LGBT immigrants.

3.    Assist the Center in expanding funding opportunities that will address the need for continued emotional support services and advocacy for LGBT immigrants at the Center.

4.    Enact and enforce protocols that take in consideration and safeguard the emotional and physical well being of the LGBT immigrants.

5.    Establish collaborations with community based organizations and other agencies to expand the pool of options beyond detention centers. These options should ensure that immigrants stay within the geographical area where he/she is based and not removed out of state as is currently the case in many instances.

6.    Establish collaborations with community based organizations and other agencies to increase education among the immigrant community about their rights,  and alternatives to detention, how to file complains and who can advocate on their behalf regarding any irregularity that may happen in while under the care of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

7.    Establish clear protocols as to how the immigrants that are under the care of DHS will have access to HIV medications, anti-depressants, hormone treatment and other mental or physical needs.

8.    Solitary confinement should never be the first option for LGBT immigrants but an alternative to detention, since this causes severe negative emotional impacts.

The Center is thankful that the City Council had this vital conversation and looks forward to collaborating to develop new programs that address the needs of the LGBT immigrant community.

Andres Hoyos (middle) receiving NASW-NYC Emerging Leaders Award

On December 1, Director of Center Wellness Andrés Hoyos, received an Emerging Leaders Award from the New York City Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-NYC). Hundreds gathered at Jing Fong Restaurant in Manhattan to pay tribute not only to Hoyos, but a host of other influential social workers. Hoyos was joined by his Center colleagues Nicole Avallone, Director of Youth Services, and George Fesser, Director of Center Families.

Through its leadership awards, NASW-NYC recognizes social workers who demonstrate exemplary leadership qualities and a unique commitment to the improvement of social and human conditions, assuring a promising future for the profession and the communities they serve.

Andrés Hoyos is a gay Latino man, originally from Colombia, who has been working in the field of social services since he was a teenager. Hoyos began his career in his native Medellín, where he worked with an NGO to establish the first ever national HIV/AIDS hotline in Colombia.

Center Staff: Nicole Avallone, Dir. of Youth Services (left), Andres Hoyos, Director of Center Wellness (middle), George Fesser, Director of Center Families (right)

Since relocating to New York City in 2000, he has worked on a volunteer basis with several agencies and committees to improve the quality of life for our communities—such as GMHC, the NYC HIV/AIDS Prevention Planning Group, Queens Pride House, the Manhattan Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council, and the Cultural Diversity Committee of Association of Substance Abuse Provider NYS.

Hoyos has been working at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in NYC since 2003. In 2007, he founded and became director of Center Recovery, the first and only state licensed substance abuse prevention program serving the LGBT community in New York.

Hoyos currently serves as the Director of Center Wellness. Under his leadership, the program has provided vital support social services to tens of thousands of LGBT people.

Andres Hoyos, Director of Center Wellness, at NASW-NYC Awards

In 2009, Hoyos was selected along with 19 other people of color as new leaders of the LGBT movement nationwide, to be part of the inaugural “21st Century Fellows Program,” sponsored by Arcus Foundation, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, and the Gill Foundation.

Andres Hoyos, Director of Center Wellness (left) and Nicole Avallone, Director of Youth Services (right)

Hoyos’ commitment to social justice has been infused throughout his work at the Center, his private practice, and most recently, as an Adjunct Professor and Faculty Advisor at NYU’s School of Social Work. The Center congratulates him on this well-deserved honor!

On Friday, November 11, LGBT veterans and supporters came together for the Center’s LGBT Veteran’s Day Reception: A Celebration of Service, honoring the first Veteran’s Day since the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Current and former soldiers of the United States armed forces from as far back as World War II, to as present as Afghanistan were available for an event to honor their sacrifices to the country as well as their ability to now serve openly and proudly as lesbian, gay, or bisexual.

Photo by Andy Duty

Alfred Eriksson, currently an antique prints and maps dealer, was one of those who served in the Second World War. Drafted in 1943 he served till 1946. He was a Sergeant in Army intelligence studying the Japanese army.  Of the repeal he said,” It’s wonderful.”

“During the actual war they didn’t pay attention to sexual orientation,”   he said when asked about attitudes toward sexuality in the army during that time. “Everyone was very discreet,” he added.

Ed Loecher who served as a Staff Sergeant in Korea from 1951-1955 echoed that sentiment. “I don’t think anyone cared too much. When you’re out in the field people don’t care as much.”

Morgan Cooley, an E5 Sergeant in the U.S. Army for six years in Afghanistan expressed her excitement over being able to attend multiple Veteran’s Day events openly now. She expressed the pressure she felt as a woman, especially in the military environment which can be as close as a family.

Photo by Andy Duty

The mastermind behind the event was Adrian Ogle, the Cultural Programs Coordinator. Why did he decide to make this his first event at the center? “Because following the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal I came to the conclusion I was disconnected from the service.”

The event was marked by a performance from the Gay Men’s Chorus as well as speeches from speakers Zeke Stokes from the Service Members Legal Defense Network, Brenda “Sue” Fulton from Knights Out, Denny Meyer from American Veterans for Equal Rights and the Transgender American Veterans Association, Joshua Seefried from OutServe, and Anu Bhagwati from the Service Women’s Action Network.

For all of its celebration the occasions was also used to remember the battles won but also the battles to come as event goers mentioned the continued plight of transgender soldiers who still cannot serve openly in the military.

Here’s direction from GLSEN on how you can get involved:

 Click Here to take the 2011 GSA Census and let your GSA’s needs in the safe schools movement be heard!

How many GSAs exist in the country? What kinds of support do GSAs need? We want to know and we need YOUR help! 

The GSA Census defines GSA as an umbrella term used to refer to all student clubs that bring LGBT youth and allies together to work on creating safe and inclusive school environments (e.g., Gay-Straight Alliance, Gay-Straight-Transgender Alliance, Queer-Straight Alliance, Rainbow Club). All GSA students and advisors/sponsors are welcome to take the GSA Census. 

All GSA Census participants will be entered in a raffle to win a www.glsenstore.org gift certificate!

Today is World AIDS Day, a time for the global community to remember those we’ve lost, contemplate ways to better help people living with HIV, and promote solutions to prevent the spread of this disease. This year marks 30 years since the first AIDS case was reported in the U.S.

Since our founding in 1983, the Center has been fully committed to providing HIV and AIDS services to our community, which has been profoundly affected by the AIDS epidemic. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers with HIV or AIDS have benefited from our help. Each year The Center provides more than 1,800 counseling and group sessions to people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. More than 1,000 LGBT youth and young adults attend HIV prevention activities and leadership training.  Thousands more attend educational forums and conferences.

But our work to end the epidemic is far from over. According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, “New York City remains the epicenter of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. More than 107,000 New Yorkers are living with HIV, but thousands more don’t know they’re infected. New York City’s AIDS case rate is almost 3 times the U.S. average, and HIV is the 3rd leading cause of death for New York City residents aged 35 to 54.”

African Americans, gay and bisexual men, transgender people and youth 13-29 continue to experience high and increasing rates of HIV infection in New York City. New York is not alone, since the first AIDS cases were reported, the global AIDS epidemic has become one of the greatest threats to human health and development.

The Center’s for Disease Control released new figures this year showing that ‘despite years of great progress in treating AIDS, the number of new HIV infections has remained stubbornly around 50,000 a year in the United States for a decade.

Today as we reflect on 30 years of HIV/AIDS, we remain optimistic in the knowledge that with continued activism, support, education, prevention programs and community building we can ultimately end this epidemic.

As part of World AIDS Day formerViva Glam Ambassador and M·A·C AIDS Fund spokesperson, Cyndi Lauper will join M.A.C Cosmetics at the Center. Lauper and M·A·C will assemble gift bags, with items donated from the New York Liberty, Contesta Rock Hair and MTV Networks,  for the LGBT Center youth and speak to press on the importance of this day. Lauper is well known for her exceptional voice and endless dedication to raising awareness for HIV/AIDS prevention and care. She recently attended the Center’s Women’s Event 14, introducing her friend and our honoree, out comedienne and activist Wanda Sykes.

The Center will also commemorate World AIDS Day by presenting documentarians Kate Kunath and Sasha Wortzel in conversation with Dennis Parrott and Linda King, owners of the legendary Starlite Lounge.

In 1959, a decade prior to Manhattan’s Stonewall riots, the Starlite Lounge opened in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, as a non-discriminatory establishment for gay people of color. A half-century later, the neighborhood and the gay community were shocked when the oldest, Black-owned, LGBT establishment was given notice to vacate and was ultimately forced to close in 2010.

In honor of World AIDS Day, The Center will focus on how the Starlite became a refuge and organizing point in response to the AIDS epidemic. The filmmakers will share key excerpts of their documentary-in-progress, Starlite, and talk with former resident performer Lady Jasmine and long-time patrons about what the Starlite meant to the community, especially in the early days of the epidemic.

Also featured at the event will be the organizers of the AIDS Memorial Park and learning center currently being proposed for the triangle site opposite the former St. Vincent’s Hospital. The proposed location sits in the middle of the neighborhood, the site of significant AIDS epidemic organizing: from the first AIDS ward at St. Vincent’s Hospital to the founding of ACT UP and other advocacy organizations at the Center.

We invite our community to be a part of our World AIDS Day events, help us pay tribute to all those we have lost and work strategically with us throughout the next decade in our continued efforts to end AIDS.

George Fesser, LMSW, Director of Center Families

On Wednesday November 16,  Director of Center Families, George Fesser, LMSW, received a Sol Award (Sun Award) from the Hispanic AIDS Forum. Community members gathered at Battery Gardens in lower Manhattan for the event. The Sol Award acknowledges extraordinary acts of compassion, courage and leadership that, like the sun, spread enlightenment, strength, and sustenance for a healthy life.

The Hispanic AIDS Forum created the Sol Award  in 2007 to honor individuals and entities who demonstrate compassion, courage and leadership in our shared struggle to eradicate HIV/AIDS and its root causes from our communities.  According to HAF:

The global AIDS epidemic has spread great misfortune among millions of people, showing us the widespread devastation caused by chronic illness.  As we fight AIDS and other chronic illnesses, it becomes increasingly clear that in the United States and throughout the world the gift of life often depends on one’s ability to buy healthcare. We, however, at HAF firmly believe that quality healthcare is an indiscriminately universal human right. In our profound appreciation of our partners who both share and practice this belief, we are proud to formally recognize their tireless work in the ongoing, collective endeavor to make the fundamental human right to healthcare a reality.

George Fesser at Sol Awards

George Fesser learned early on about dedicating himself to bettering the lives of others. At 19 years old and just out of high school in Miami, George joined the Missionary group “Amor en Accion” and went on missions to Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala, helping the poorest of the poor. This is also the time when he came to grips with being gay and learned that he was HIV-positive. Being honest and authentic with his fellow missionaries and family members about his status cost him his membership in this Catholic organization, and caused a break between George and his father which continues until today. This was his first stark experience with homophobia and bias against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities and those living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

However, George did not give up. He pursued volunteer work at Miami Children’s Hospital and soon after was hired and worked for a number of years at the adolescent psychiatric ward helping social workers and nurses deal with suicidal teens, 40% of whom were LGBT. Simultaneously, George obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work at Barry University.

In 1998, George moved to New York City to pursue a Master’s Degree in Social Work. However, a Kaposi Sarcoma diagnoses delayed his plans to begin graduate school; instead he concentrated on beating his cancer and moving forward in his career as a prevention counselor at Streetworks Project, where he worked with homeless teenagers. After one year of chemotherapy, George beat cancer, and began to work for Montefiore Medical Center as a research associate for the New York Academy of Medicine.

Heriberto Sanchez-Soto, Exec. Director Hispanic AIDS Forum (left), George Fesser, LMSW, Director of Center Families (middle), Jesus Aguias, Exec. Director Aid for AIDS (right)

In 2002 he began to work at Aid for AIDS International. After this, George was a Prevention Counselor at the Western Queens site of the Hispanic AIDS Forum, where he worked for almost four years. He then moved on to The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, and while working full time as the Coordinator of Substance Abuse Prevention & Immigration Services, completed his Master’s Degree in Social Work at Columbia University, School of Social Work. During his time at the Center George coordinated and provided direct support services to LGBT immigrants from over 50 countries. George also created the Center’s LGBT Immigrant Social Action Group which helps LGBT immigrants learn more about the laws that affect them and how they can use their stories to promote change in a system that does not recognize the unique needs of the LGBT immigrant population.

In his new role as Director of Center Families, George is responsible for organizing education and support services for prospective parents and families in the LGBTQ community, as well as overseeing the groundbreaking LGBTQ Foster Care Project. George is now engaged to JC his partner of 8 years, and they enjoy a great life together with their Terrier, Oxy.

George Fesser and his partner Juan Carlos Garcia-Lavin

We are proud to have George on our staff and congratulate him on receiving this prestigious award.