Center Blog

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.

Bishop Gene Robinson

Start your week at the Center with New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the invocation speaker at the opening event for President Obama’s inauguration, and the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church.  He will be at the Center on Monday 6/15, presented by the Center and The New York Times.

On Tuesday 6/16, learn about the first site ever associated with LGBT history to be so recognized by the federal government at  The Stonewall National Historic Landmark: 1969, 1999, and Beyond, presented by Second Tuesdays.  On Wednesday 6/17, see author author Jeffrey Escoffier read from Bigger Than Life.

Meditation on a Theme: Sexual Healing on Thursday 6/18 will ask where are we as sensual beings in a country said to be both oversexed and highly puritanical?  Later on Thursday 6/18, join the Center’s Young Leaders Council for a Pre-Pride Celebration with the cast of Hair.  Event is 21+, and RSVP is required!

On Saturday 6/20, join the Center at these Pride events: Bronx Pride, Folsom Street East, and Leather Pride Night.  To volunteer with the Center during Pride events, go to www.gaycenter.org/pride.

Happy Pride Month! The Center will be kicking off Pride Month this weekend, and we would love it if you would join us!  We’ll be at Staten Island Pride on Saturday 6/6 and Queens Pride on Sunday 6/7. Sign up to volunteer at Pride events with the Center or check out the Center’s list of Pride events at gaycenter.org/pride. Find Staten Island Pride on Facebook and Queens Pride on Facebook, and invite your friends!

On Wednesday 6/3, the third annual Transgender Health Fair is happening here at the Center.  Some of the organizations participating in this year’s fair include Anti-Violence Project, Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, Community Healthcare Network, Empire State Pride Agenda, GMHC, Hispanic AIDS Forum, Housing Works, Imperial Court of New York, The Center, NYAGRA, PFLAG NYC, Positive Health Project, SAGE, Saint Vincent’s, Trans Empowerment, TransJustice/Audre Lorde Project, and many more! Come for free health screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, mental health and more.  Transgender-specific health information will be available, as will information on smoking cessation, nutrition, health insurance and more. We’ll also be featuring Medicaid enrollment. More information is at Transgender Health Fair, and you can RSVP on Facebook.

Trans Health Fair, Wednesday, June 3, 5:30-7:30PM

If you’re disappointed and angry about last week’s Prop 8 decision, attend a meeting this Wednesday 6/3 at the Center.  There is a Marriage Equality New York’s (MENY) General Meeting and a Civil Rights Front Monthly Meeting on Wednesday 6/3.  Today 6/1 is the last day to enter a video in Project Pushback, our marriage equality video contest (a joint project with the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center) – win $2,500 while supporting marriage equality!

Not only is this the first week of Pride – it’s also Internet Week New York.  The Center is hosting an Internet Week event on Thursday 6/4, Social Media for Non-Profits.  Check out all the Internet Week events happening this week 6/1-6-8.

Check out all of our upcoming events at the Center Calendar, which is quite packed this month!  And get the latest updates via Twitter and Facebook.

Check out these photos from AIDS Walk NY 2009.  Thanks to all of the Center’s walkers and supporters!

AIDS Walk NY 2009. Photo by Pat Pasenello.

View photos on Flickr or Facebook, and see the Center’s AIDS Walk page.