Arts & Entertainment
Starting the conversation
Whitman-Walker plans series of LGBT-specific health meetings
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Whitman-Walker's June Crenshaw and Don Blanchon at a previous event. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Whitman-Walker Health is planning a series of LGBT-specific town hall-style events this year called Community Conversations. The first, slated for Thursday at the Clinicās Elizabeth Taylor Center (1701 14thĀ Street, NW), is dubbed āNew Year, New Start: Substance Abuse.ā
āThroughout our history, Whitman-Walker has worked to meet the unique health care needs of the LGBT community,ā Don Blanchon, the Clinicās executive director, said in a statement. āOne of our goals ā¦ is to empower participants with the knowledge and resources to improve not only their health but the health of the family, friends and loved ones around them.ā
Chip Lewis, the Clinicās deputy director of communications, says the series was Blanchonās idea and that he wanted āa mechanism to build this dialogue between Whitman-Walker and the community.ā Chris Dyer, an LGBT liaison in former Mayor Adrian Fentyās administration, suggested the format.
Lewis says the staff hopes the series is a two-way street.
āItās an opportunity to start a dialogue with the community about health issues it faces,ā he says. āIt can help us present the LGBT health issues that we service but we also want to hear from them and find out what theyāre seeing and hearing about. Itās an opportunity for a dialogue for Whitman-Walker and the larger LGBT community as a whole.ā
Thursdayās panelists are treatment advocate Jimmy Garza, addictions counselor Christina Oseth and nightlife impresario Ed Bailey. Moderator Josh Reilly is manager of addiction treatment programs for Whitman-Walker. The discussion starts at 7 p.m. Itās free and open to the pubic and those interested in attending will be directed to the meeting room from the front lobby.
Nine conversations are planned. A Feb. 23 discussion on āhealthier hookupsā will also be at the Elizabeth Taylor Center. On March 29, āWhy Safe Sex Mattersā will be held at the True Reformer Building and on April 30, āAging and the LGBT Communityā will be at the D.C. Center. Dates and locations are still being set for the remaining installments. Topics slated include āWomenās Health,ā āTake Pride in Your Health,ā āHIV Testing,ā āIām a Survivor: Living Long Term With HIVā and āTransgender Health.ā Go to whitman-walker.org for more information. The Blade will also run details as they are announced.
Lewis says things are going well for the Clinic overall and he expects that it will soon be announced that 2011 was another successful year. Itās now operating āin the blackā (there was a half-million-dollar surplus in 2010 Lewis says) after finishing 2007 and 2008 millions in the hole. The numbers for 2009 found the Clinic running a $750,000 deficit. Revenue sources have changed and Medicare, Medicaid and pharmacy sales have provided a more stable source of revenue, he says.
But misconceptions abound about the Clinic, Lewis says. A broadening of services has āde-gayedā the Clinic, some critics have claimed, but Lewis says a higher percentage of those seeking services today self-identity as LGBT than a few years ago (itās about half, he says).
āYou can come here for mental health, support groups, primary care, gynecological care ā there was a sense for a long time that this was just where you went if you were facing HIV and AIDS and thatās never really been the case,ā Lewis says. ā[These Conversations] are another opportunity for us to get across to people that we offer a lot of health services.ā
The Community Conversations are expected to last between one and two hours depending on the number of questions and comments.
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The 2024 New York City Pride Parade wound through the streets of Manhattan and past the historic Stonewall Inn on Sunday, June 30.
(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)
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The fourth annual Fredericksburg Pride march and festival was held at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg, Va. on Saturday, June 29. The event began with a march around downtown Fredericksburg beginning and ending in the park.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Covering Fredericksburg Pride for @WashBlade . City Council member @WillMackintosh speaking: pic.twitter.com/tDdVD2IVsM
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) June 29, 2024
Photos
PHOTOS: Goodwin Living Pride
Senior living and healthcare organization holds fourth annual march at Falls Church campus
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The senior living and healthcare organization Goodwin Living held its fourth annual community Pride march around its Bailey’s Crossroads campus in Falls Church, Va. with residents, friends and supporters on Tuesday, June 25. Following the march, a drag brunch was held with performances by drag artists of SADBrunch: Crimsyn, Sapphire Dupree and Evon Dior Michelle.
(Photos courtesy of Goodwin Living)
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