Center Blog

On Monday, April 30 “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Finalists, Sharon Needles, Chad Michaels and Phi Phi O’hara visited the Center and each gave a special performace for the young people in our Youth Enrichment Services Program.

LogoTV also sent a camera crew to capture all the fierce and fabulous moments, and highlight the young people who use the Center’s services– and their reactions to the show. It was a great opportunity for the youth to see these fabulous queens showcasing their creativity and being fearless.

The Center thanks LogoTV and all the finalists for taking time out of their busy schedules to share their immense talents and their message of inclusivity with our amazing young people. 

And huge congratulations to Sharon Needles on winning Drag Race!

View photos of the Queens’ visit to the Center here.

Center Youth Organizing (YO!) interns joined 50 other advocates in late January; they embarked on a bus trip to Albany with a mission of educating state legislators about the importance of tobacco prevention programs.

This yearly event is coordinated by the New York City Smoke Free Coalition and includes young voices from throughout New York City who meet with a host of state assembly members and senators to inform them about the need to keep robust funding for tobacco prevention programs and explain why the initiatives are so important.

The coalition’s local efforts have helped contribute to a significant reduction in New York City smoking rates; NYC has the lowest smoking rates in the nation. Unfortunately tobacco companies continue to bombard young people with advertising at local convenience stores near their schools.

Center youth speak out regularly about this alarming trend at community board meetings and other forums and push for measures that would limit these manipulative and harmful campaigns which have resulted in alarming statistics: 59 percent of self-identified LGBT teenagers in NYC report using tobacco, compared to 35 percent of self-identified straight teens. State legislators were very receptive to the youth tobacco prevention message and agreed to make this a priority when looking at overall state funding.

Brian Smith, the Center’s Youth Services Community Organizing Specialist said trips like this one show young people that their educational efforts truly matter:

“It’s great to see the young people take all that they’ve learned inside the walls of the Center and put it into practice in the world. They realize, ‘I can make a difference and my voice does count,’” Smith said.

One of our sister organizations, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), has asked the Center to help get the word out about its GSA Census.

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.

 

The Center is pleased to announce that four young people from our Youth Enrichment Services (YES) Program are featured in the new “Amplify Your Voice!” anti-LGBT bullying public service announcement campaign created by The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

The campaign includes dozens of celebrities speaking out about the harms of bullying and each PSA is introduced with a personal bullying story from our YES participants, who have all found strength and empowerment through our program. The young people featured are 18-year-old Antonio Fernandez, 20-year-old Dillon Seebalack, 22 year old DeEbonie Swindell,  and 22 year old Devin Greene.

The campaign coincides with National Bullying Prevention Month and Spirit Day on October 20. You can read much more here in GLAAD’s official press release:

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, today announced an initial list of participants in Spirit Day as well as the launch of its “Amplify Your Voice!” public service announcement (PSA) campaign featuring celebrity talent and young people speaking out against anti-LGBT bullying.The PSAs urge viewers to take a stand against anti-LGBT bullying and direct viewers to GLAAD.org for resource kits offering best practices to parents, teachers and students. The free kits feature resources from the American Federation of Teachers, GLSEN, the National Center for Transgender Equality and The Trevor Project, among others.

Celebrity participants in GLAAD’s ‘Amplify Your Voice’ campaign — a project developed with the American Federation of Teachers — include: Chaz Bono, Kristin Chenoweth, Vinny Guadaginino, Rashida Jones, Dustin Lance Black, Sandra Lee, Mario Lopez, Shaquille O’Neal, Amy Poehler, Naya Rivera, Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott, Ariel Winter, and the cast of ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars. The campaign also features the personal stories of young people from New York’s LGBT Community Center (the Center). The Center’s Youth Enrichment Services (YES) Program is open to LGBT and questioning people between the ages of 13 and 22, and provides them with community support to foster healthy development in a safe, affirming and drug-free environment.

Videos and resource kits are available here: www.glaad.org/amplifyyourvoice. Media interested in posted the videos can find instructions here. Comcast will serve as a leading media partner for the PSA campaign, contributing $3 million in national airtime and bringing this important message to more than 20 million homes over the next year. Additional videos to be released in coming weeks.

GLAAD also announced initial participants who will join millions of Americans by wearing purple on October 20, 2011, to take a stand against anti-LGBT bullying and show support for LGBT youth on Spirit Day. GLAAD is working with organizations including GLSEN, GSA Network and the Trevor Project as part of National Bullying Prevention Month to inspire individuals, schools, organizations, corporations, media professionals and celebrities to wear purple.

For a list of celebrity participants, media outlets, TV networks, organizations and corporations visit www.glaad.org/spiritday. Additional participants will be announced in coming days.

Hosts from the CNBC, CNN, E!, the Dr. Drew Show, MSNBC and The View will be wearing purple on-air.

MTV will be turning the on-air logo purple along with their Facebook, Twitter, MTV.com and MTV Act logos.

Celebrity participants include: Tamra Barney (Bravo, Real Housewives of Orange County), Laura Bruce (WE, Downsized), Andy Cohen (Bravo), Aisha Dee (Fox, I Hate My Teenage Daughter), Drew Ginsburg (Bravo, Most Eligible Dallas), Carson Kressley (ABC, Dancing With The Stars), Padma Lakshmi (Bravo, Top Chef), Kristi Lauren (I Hate My Teenage Daughter), Katie Leclerc (ABC Family, Switched at Birth), Vanessa Marano (ABC Family, Switched at Birth), Shay Mitchell (ABC Family, Pretty Little Liars), Mary Murphy (So You Think You Can Dance), David Nadelberg (Sundance Channel, The Mortified Sessions), Matt Nordgren (Bravo, Most Eligible Dallas), Rosie Pope (Bravo, Pregnant in Heels), Garo Sparo (Sundance Channel, Unleashed by Garo), Steve-O, TJ Thyne (Bones), Diann Valentine (WE, I Do Over), Kathy Wakile (Bravo, Real Housewives of New Jersey), Joe Zee (Sundance Channel, All on the Line with Joe Zee), and the cast of Sundance Channel’s Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys are among celebrities who will participate by wearing purple or changing Twitter and Facebook photos for the day. Participants in 2010 included Cyndi Lauper, Ricky Martin, Khloe Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest, Perez Hilton, Kristin Chenoweth, the Dixie Chicks, cast members from of Glee, Joan Rivers, among dozens of others.

Companies including American Airlines, AT&T, B|W|R Public Relations, Comcast, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, McGraw-Hill, NBCUniversal, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Verizon, Yahoo! and Yahoo! Pride will participate in 2011. Participating companies will be distributing information to employees about wearing purple. Some have also pledged to turn logos purple for the day. For more information on specific plans visit: http://www.glaad.org/spiritday/corporate.

The Sundance Channel employees will be participating and the Sundance Channel social media logos will turn to purple on Spirit Day.

LOGO will air a Spirit day purple ribbon on the channel to drive viewers to NewNowNext.com to increase awareness against bullying. Additionally, their Twitter (@LogoTV) and Facebook photos will ‘go purple’ and pictures of staff, fans and talent will be posted to Tumblr throughout the day.

Here Media will turn logos on Advocate.com, Out.com and SheWired purple for the day.

Spirit Day coincides with GLSEN’s ‘Ally Week’ (October 17-21), a week for students to organize events that serve to identify, support and celebrate Allies against anti-LGBT language, bullying and harassment in America’s schools and communities. GLSEN has partnered with GLAAD to promote Spirit Day as an event for students to participate in during ‘Ally Week.’ For more information about ‘Ally Week’ visit www.allyweek.org.

In addition to GLSEN, GSA Network and The Trevor Project, dozens of local and faith-based organization are also participating in Spirit Day including: Basic Rights Oregon, COLAGE, Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry, Pacific School of Religion, Coalition of Welcoming Congregations of the Bay Area, DignityUSA, Equality Hawaii, Equality Michigan, Equality Utah, Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), Human Rights Campaign’s Religion & Faith Program, Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Keshet, Lutherans Concerned/North America, More Light Presbyterians, Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture and Spirituality, PROMO, Religious Institute: Faithful Voices on Sexuality and Religion, Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER), United Church of Christ Office for LGBT Ministries, Straight But Not Narrow.

Spirit Day was started in 2010 by teenager Brittany McMillan as a way to show support for LGBT youth and remember those lives lost to suicide. Millions of teachers, workplaces, media personalities and students wore purple, which symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag.

“From Hollywood to corporate America, it’s clear that an overwhelming number of Americans today support LGBT youth and believe that no one should be bullied for being who they are,” said GLAAD Acting President Mike Thompson.  

“On Spirit Day and with our new ‘Amplify Your Voice!’ campaign, some of the greatest Hollywood, news and sports voices will be brought into America’s living rooms, reminding millions that no matter who you are, you have the power to make a difference.”

You can read more here in a blog post by GLAAD and view the videos featuring YES youth.  You can also learn more about their individual bullying stories in GLAAD’s “Amplify your Voice” Resource Kit.

The Center is honored to be a part of this vital campaign and sends a heartfelt thank you to GLAAD for including our inspirational youth voices!

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center is pleased to announce the appointment of Nicole Avallone as the Center’s new Director of Youth Services. In this capacity, she will oversee our Youth Enrichment Services (YES) program staff and the coordination, implementation and delivery of the spectrum of educational, developmental, prevention and support interventions offered by YES.

Avallone is a social worker with an extensive history of providing support and advocacy to the LGBT community. Most recently she served as Director of Member Services & Outreach at the Rainbow Heights Club, the only government funded psychosocial club specifically geared toward serving LGBT adults living with mental illness.

Avallone’s professional career included a year-long internship with the Center’s Adult Services Department in 2003-2004. Since that time she has continued to facilitate groups for the Center’s Gender Identity Project, primarily focusing on support for partners of transgender people. She began her career in social services as an advocate for young people living on the streets and in shelters in Seattle, Washington. 

“Avallone brings a powerful history, enormous energy and commitment to the mission of the Center,” said Carrie Davis, Director of Community Services. “She will be a genuine resource in the work we continue to do.”

This change comes in the context of the development of the new Community Services Department that began in the fall of 2010. The new Community Services Department is working to improve participant services through freer internal transfers of talents and resources, and expanding program reach and infrastructure to better serve our communities. The department is also developing new services designed to address the needs of underserved or “gap” populations and enhance our focus on the Center’s mission and strategic plan.

The New York City Department of Education has designated February 14 -18 as “Respect For All Week” in all NYC public schools. As part of that effort the Youth Enrichment Services (YES) program of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center is offering special programming to engage high school students on the importance of respecting each other and raising awareness about bullying and harassment.  The (YES) Program will lead tours of the Center and highlight its role in the LGBT movement. Students will learn about the resources we provide, including leadership programming and opportunities for youth to create safer school environments.

We also invite teachers to bring their students to our monthly Safe School Network Meetings. These meetings, facilitated by our Safe Schools interns, bring together high school students from across the city to exchange ideas about school safety and learn to start Gay and Straight Alliances. The next Safe School Meeting Dates are March 11 and April 1 from 5:30 PM-7:30 PM at the Center.

Tonight, February 17, the Center is also dedicating our newest permanent art installation. Titled “First Impressions,” this mural was conceived and created by (YES) participants under the theme of equality and diversity and in partnership with the Groundswell Community Mural Project and Farrow & Ball Paint. The mural is located in our Family Services Room.  

If you are interested in learning more about our youth leadership programming and the Safe Schools Internship, please contact The Center’s Youth Enrichment Services program at 212-620-7310.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, the East Coast’s largest LGBT center, today announced the appointment of Carrie Davis, MSW, as Director of the Center’s new Community Services Department.

Ms. Davis is a social worker and takes on this role after leading the Center’s Adult Services Department for the past four years. Having first joined the Center in 1998, her new role will encompass a wide array of programs and administrative functions.  The transition combines existing social service areas under the one umbrella of the Community Services Department that includes health, youth and families.

These vital programs provide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) people with community support to foster healthy identity and family development, including integrated substance abuse, mental health, HIV and AIDS, smoking cessation, and lesbian cancer and immigration services through the delivery of a range of supportive interventions, advocacy, outreach, education and capacity-building.

“We’re thrilled to have Carrie Davis heading up our new Community Services Department,” said Executive Director Glennda Testone.  “Carrie’s proven dedication to bettering the lives of our community through our vast health, youth and family programs is unparalleled. Under her steady program leadership and direction we are poised to significantly grow our capacity to serve LGBTQ people throughout the next decade.”

The new Community Services department improves participant services through freer internal transfers of talents and resources, and expands program reach and infrastructure to better serve clients. The department also provides new services designed to address the needs of underserved or “gap” populations and enhances our focus on the Center’s mission and strategic plan. At the same time, Community Services will cut operating costs and increase our fiscal responsibility through streamlining administrative functions.

Carrie Davis is also a community organizer, advocate and educator, working with health care providers, schools and government agencies to address LGBT identity, legal, health care and social concerns at the national, state and local levels. In addition to her work at the Center she currently serves on the New York City Police Department LGBT Advisory Committee, the All Gender Health Online Research Project Advisory Board, and has previously served on the board of directors of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP), the International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE), the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA) and GenderPAC, as well as the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) Board of Advisors. Carrie is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the Hunter College School of Social Work.

For more information on the programs offered by our Community Services Department visit these pages on our website:

Health

Youth

Families

As we begin 2011 it’s refreshing to look back and reflect on how The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center was able to create a safe and nurturing environment for hundreds of (LGBTQ) youth ages 13 to 22, during the holiday season. The Center’s Youth Enrichment Services (Y.E.S.) program held three events in the fall and early winter. They included: “Thanks for Being Queer Turkey Dinner Event” on November 24, which served 100 youth; “Youth Holiday Event” on December 23, that served over 60 youth; and “New Year’s Event” on December 30, serving over 60 youth. The YES holidays events are part of an overall (Y.E.S.) strategy to ensure the safe and healthy development of LGBTQ youth and reduce the incidence of homelessness, HIV and substance abuse. In addition, these events provide homeless LGBTQ youth opportunities to experience milestones such as the holidays in LGBT-positive ways that mainstream settings and many of their families do not provide.

Our “Thanks for Being Queer: Turkey Dinner Event” included the first public performance by the (Y.E.S.) New Agenda dancers, who shared a performance on Native American cultural expression of LGBTQ identities. Both the “Youth Holiday Event” on December 23 and the “Youth New Year’s Event” on December 30 included refreshments funded by PepsiCo’s LGBT employee affinity group and a clothing swap/share with new and used clothing and shoes donated by Center staff. Each event also included activities, groups and games, as well as gift bags complete with “swag” from RuPaul’s Drag Race and new winter scarves, gloves, hats and bags donated by the MTV and HBO LGBT employee affinity groups.

The Center is committed to offering vital services to the young people in our community who often have no role models and no other opportunities to experience an LGBT inclusive environment. We look forward to providing these kinds of unique youth programs throughout the new year and we thank generous donors like PepsiCo, HBO and MTV for helping to make it possible.

On Wednesday, December 29, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center’s Youth Enrichment Services (YES) Program was featured on the nationally syndicated The Nate Berkus Show in an episode tied to the string of recent gay bullying cases and suicides, entitled “Rebuilding Home After Tragedy.” After meeting and talking with teens at the Center, Nate Berkus made the announcement that he would make over the YES lobby. The one-hour episode included interviews with several of the Center’s inspirational young people, Wendy Walsh, the mother of the 13-year-old Seth, who committed suicide after being bullied because he was gay, Seth’s brother Shawn and an intimate conversation and performance by country music star Chely Wright. The Center was proud to be part of this groundbreaking episode that showcased the vital importance of our youth program in stopping bullying related suicides. We also send a heartfelt thank you to The Nate Berkus Show for transforming our youth space.

View Videos

Makeover Reveal

Chely Wright Performance