Center Blog

The Lesbian Cancer Initiative’s 6th Annual The C-Word: Coming Together Around Cancer was a powerful evening. There was art, spoken word, education and poignant discussion of politics in light of the recent announcement of new breast cancer screening recommendations that would push the age to start regular mammography back from 40 to 50.

On November 16, The New York Times published 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.

This week, the Center’s Associate Director of Center CARE Wellness, Andrés Hoyos, is featured in the second part of an Advocate.com health video with Dr. Frank Spinelli. If you missed it last week, check out part one of the segment.  Watch below or at Advocate.com.

Ask the Doctor: The Power of Support Networks, Part 2: Dr. Spinelli delves further into the side of HIV treatment that is most often overlooked: mental health.  Watch now.

Below is another still from the segment:

For more information:

Center CARE Wellness
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center
Advocate.com Ask the Doctor

As we announced in August, the Center’s Associate Director of Center CARE Wellness, Andrés Hoyos, is featured in a new Advocate.com health video series with Dr. Frank Spinelli. Part one of the segment, which also includes the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center’s Director of Mental Health, Katie Douglass, is online now.  Watch below or at Advocate.com.  The second part of the video will air next week, so stay tuned!

Ask the Doctor: The Power of Support Networks:  Dr. Spinelli uncovers the side of HIV Treatment that is most often overlooked: mental health.  Watch now.

Below is a photo from the taping in August:

Andrés Hoyos of the Center, Katie Douglass of Callen-Lorde, and Dr. Frank Spinelli

For more information:

Center CARE Wellness
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center
Advocate.com Ask the Doctor

Allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Jeff Klein and I am riding in Braking the Cycle this year!  Braking the Cycle is a 300 mile bike ride which raises money for the Center’s HIV and AIDS services as well as spreads awareness along the route.  This year the ride is from Boston to New York City, returning to the route of the original AIDS ride which benefited the Center.  I will join over 120 people who will make this journey, each whom have raised over $3,500 for the Center.

I will be blogging from the ride (not from WHILE riding – don’t worry!) and trying to convey what an amazing experience it is to do the ride.   This is my second year riding and I can tell you last year was a fantastic experience.   It is a physical challenge but also so much more than that.   The emotional experience of the ride is something I have not found any where else.  You leave feeling you accomplished something important, having raised money for those in need, but you also have connected with over 100 other people in a profound way despite the fact that it has only been 3 days.

I hope you enjoy hearing about my experience on the ride this year – and maybe it will inspire you to join us next year!

Learn more about Braking the Cycle

Watch for a new health series on Advocate.com this September called Ask the Doctor, hosted by Dr. Frank Spinelli, The Advocate’s healthcare columnist. The Center’s Associate Director of Center CARE Wellness, Andrés Hoyos, joined the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center’s Director of Mental Health, Katie Douglass, at today’s taping of the Ask the Doctor series.  They focused on the importance of HIV support groups and networks.

While you won’t be able to watch the video until September, you can see a photo from today’s taping below.

Andrés Hoyos of the Center, Katie Douglass of Callen-Lorde, and Dr. Frank Spinelli

We’ll let you know when the video is posted to Advocate.com in September.  In the meantime, check out these community resources:

Center CARE Wellness
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center
Advocate.com Health & Fitness

Transgender Basics is a 20 minute educational film on the concepts of gender and transgender people by the Gender Identity Project (GIP).  It is now available on YouTube and DVD.  DVDs can be ordered on the GIP website.  Check it out!

Go to YouTube to comment on or share this video.

In Transgender Basics, two providers from the Gender Identity Project discuss basic concepts of gender – sex, identity and gender roles – as three transgender community members share their personal experiences of being trans and genderqueer.

The film targets service providers and others working with the LGBT community, but it also provides a fascinating glimpse into gender and identity for the general public.

Go to the Gender Identity Project’s website.

This Tuesday (August 4) at 6 PM at the Center, the GIP, the TLDEF and the NYAGRA will be hosting the Trans Health Initiative New York (THINY), a monthly drop in advocacy group that works to provide the trans-community better access to healthcare. There is no registration required and admission is free!

There will be a MENY (Marriage Equality New York) General Meeting this Wednesday (August 5) from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. This monthly meeting features guest speakers, provides updates on MENY plans, actions and events and explains how people can get involved to make a difference!

Directly after the MENY meeting there will be a Civil Rights Front Monthly Meeting from 7:30 PM until 8:30 PM. This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in getting caught up with the LGBT movement on both a state and national level. Topics that will be covered include: National Equality March, The Great National Kiss-In, Change Comes Home: Grassroots lobby month and the NY State Senate. A large portion of this meeting will be devoted to figuring out appropriate ways to recruit volunteers for the National Equality March.

On Wednesday from 8-10 PM there will be a Social Game Club Night, which will feature “That’s My Empire!”, a game of kingdoms and conquests. Don’t be late or you’ll miss your spot!

For prospective LGBTQ parents, consider attending Thursday night’s Wannabe Dads and Moms (All About Adoption) (8-10 PM).

On Saturday, August 8 from 12-5 PM the GIP will be hosting its forth annual Trans on the Sands event in Coney Island, Brooklyn! The event will be a lackadaisical day at the beach for transgender and gender non-conforming people, their families and allies. For more information, you can RSVP to this event on Facebook!

Finally, on Saturday 8/8 the Center will be featuring the second annual KinkForAll New York City event from 11 AM-6 PM. For more information on this event or for pre-registration signup click here.

LGBT Health Needs in 2009: Free Panel Discussion
Monday, July 20

Have questions on your healthcare benefits? Do you know about the free resources available to you right in your neighborhood? Do you know your health care rights as an LGBT employee? What does the future of healthcare look like under the Obama administration, and how will it affect coverage?

Join health care professionals and providers for a discussion on current healthcare needs of our community. LGBT individuals have unique needs that are not always addressed, and we live in a complex, ever-changing environment of rules and laws. This is your opportunity to ask the questions and address issues that directly affect your most important asset, your health.

Please register on our website now!

Monday, July 20, 2009
6-7:30 pm
@ The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center

6:00 pm Open Bar*
6:30 pm Program and Networking Reception

Price Free

Andrés Hoyos		Pablo McCabe		Ady Ben-Israel
Bisher Akil		Marjorie Schulman		Felix Lopez

Moderator
Andres Hoyos, MS, LMSW
Associate Director, Center CARE
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center

Panelists

Bisher Akil, MD, Medical Director
NYMD

Ady Ben-Israel, MA, LMSW, Associate Director, Center CARE
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center

Felix Lopez, Director, Legal Department
Gay Men’s Health Crisis

Pablo McCabe, Employee Assistance Program Association NYC Chapter Member

Marjorie Schulman, M.D., Senior Medical Director
Aetna

This program has been generously underwritten by

Produced in Partnership with

*Alcoholic & non-alcoholic beverages will be available.

Check out the photos of the Center’s contingent in the NYC LGBT Pride March!  You can tag your friends in the photos on Facebook, and you can watch the slideshow on Flickr!

Check out this episode of GRITtv with Laura Flanders about progressive politics and the LGBT movement–including the Center’s role!  The Center’s former Executive Director, Richard Burns, discusses the LGBT movement with three other leaders.  The segment ends with footage of last week’s Trans Day of Action, which was endorsed by the Center and included a Gender Identity Project contingent.  Watch it now:

From GRITtv with Laura Flanders:  Progressive Politics and the LGBT Movement:

What can the progressive movement learn from the LGBT community? On the 40^th anniversary of Stonewall there has been a good deal of reflection and soul searching on the role of the struggle for gay rights within the larger civil rights movement. Yesterday when Barack Obama met with gay couples in the White House he said, “It’s not for me to tell you to be patient any more than it was for others to counsel patience to African-Americans who were petitioning for equal rights a half-century ago. We’ve been in office six months now. I suspect that by the time this administration is over, I think you guys will have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration.” That could be applied to a number of issues, not only those affecting the LGBT community.

Richard Burns, Chief Operating Officer of the Arcus Foundation, Naomi Clark of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, Richard Kim, Associate Editor at The Nation, and independent journalist Nancy Goldstein on the role of LGBT politics within the progressive movement.