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Mayor confirms D.C. withholding funds from trans group

Health Department mum on help for displaced clients

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Vince Gray, Washington D.C., gay news, Washington Blade
Vince Gray, Washington D.C., gay news, Washington Blade

ā€˜Weā€™ll work with them to try to get this resolved,ā€™ said Mayor Vince Gray about T.H.E. ā€˜But theyā€™re going to have to pay the taxes.ā€™ (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray acknowledged that tax liens filed against Transgender Health Empowerment by the IRS has forced the city to discontinue its funding for the organization, even though it has provided important services for the transgender community.

In an interview with the Washington Blade on Saturday, Gray said he was aware of ongoing financial problems at THE, the cityā€™s oldest and most prominent transgender advocacy and services organization.

Among other things, the group has provided HIV and housing-related services for transgender clients through funding from city grants.

ā€œI donā€™t know the details of how much and that sort of thing,ā€ Gray said in referring to how much money THE owes the IRS.

ā€œBut any organization that has a grant from the government is going to have to comply with the basic rules of conformance with the requirements of the government, including paying your taxes,ā€ he said.

ā€œSo while they certainly have been helpful and I have a lot of admiration for that organization, they are going to have to straighten this out,ā€ Gray said. ā€œIt wouldnā€™t be fair if organization X is absolved of responsibility and organization Y would be held accountable for this.ā€

Added Gray, ā€œSo weā€™ll work with them to try to get this resolved. But theyā€™re going to have to pay the taxes. Thereā€™s no question about thatā€¦.Itā€™s a basic, fundamental rule that any organization that has a grant or contract with the government ā€“ they have to take care of these basic administrative responsibilities.ā€

Grayā€™s comments came at a time when transgender activists have expressed concern that the D.C. Department of Health, which is responsible for monitoring THE grants, has not said whether itā€™s taking steps to redirect the groupā€™s clients to other service providers.

ā€œTransgender Health Empowerment (THE) has had to dramatically curtail their services due to financial difficulties,ā€ said the D.C. Trans Coalition in a statement on May 9.

ā€œThis reduction happened very suddenly, and services trans community members depend on have been abruptly cut off,ā€ the statement says. ā€œImmediate action must be taken to ensure THE clients get services they need to ensure continuity of care.ā€

The statement says D.C. Trans Coalition ā€œstands with THEā€™s clients and calls on the D.C. government, as THEā€™s primary funder, to act quickly to make sure that necessary services continue.ā€

A spokesperson for the Department of Health, as well as its gay interim director, Dr. Saul Levin, and the gay head of the departmentā€™s HIV/AIDS office, Dr. Gregory Pappas, have not responded to requests for comment and requests for information on the THE situation from the Blade.

THEā€™s executive director, Anthony Hall, has also declined to comment. Brian Devine, THEā€™s finance manager, told the Blade the groupā€™s board of directors, which met recently, decided the organization would not issue a statement at the present time.

Transgender activist Ruby Corado, director of Casa Ruby, an LGBT community center in Columbia Heights that reaches out to the Latino and transgender communities, said THE clients have approached Casa Ruby for assistance after discovering that services at THE were no longer available to them.

She said officials with the Department of Health had not responded to her request for information about who, if anyone, would provide help for the THE clients displaced by THEā€™s reduction in services.

ā€œI have an issue with the government doing that,ā€ Corado said. ā€œYou just donā€™t drop people like that. If you are withholding money from an agency that is providing services you need to make sure that in the meantime you are able to transition the clients,ā€ she said. ā€œAnd I donā€™t think that has happened.ā€

Public records at the D.C. Office of the Recorder of Deeds show that the IRS filed at least 10 liens against THE since early 2010. Most are due to THEā€™s failure to pay employee payroll taxes, the records show.

As a non-profit organization, THE is not required to pay taxes on income from private donations, government grants or other income sources.

Another sign of THEā€™s financial problems surfaced last week when its web hosting company suspended the groupā€™s website. ā€œThis site has stepped out for a bit,ā€ a note on the only remaining page of the site says. A phone number on the page directed to the ā€œsite ownerā€ takes callers to the billing department of the web hosting company Go Daddy.

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Virginia

Parades, community events held to mark Pride Month in Va.

Upwards of 30,000 people attended PrideFest in Norfolk on June 22

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Shi-Queeta-Lee at Arlington Pride in Arlington, Va., on June 29, 2024. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Activists across Virginia last month held a series of events to mark Pride Month.

Hampton Roads Pride, a volunteer-run organization founded in 1997, held 37 different Pride events throughout the region in June. 

Their biggest event, PrideFest, which is part of their larger three day event, Pride Weekend, celebrated its 36th anniversary on June 22. Pride Weekend took place from June 21-23 and began with a block party at NorVa in Norfolk. 

PrideFest took place at Town Point Park, and an estimated 30,000 people attended. More than 70 venders participated, while Todrick Hall and Mariah Counts are among those who performed.

Another PrideFest event with a DJ in the afternoon and live music at night took place in Virginia Beach on June 23. Congressman Bobby Scott and U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) are among those who attended Pride events in Suffolk on June 30.

Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander, along with members of the Norfolk and Virginia Beach City Councils, also attended the Pride events in their respective cities. Jamar Walker, the first openly gay federal judge in Virginia, also took part.

ā€œYou know people all throughout Pride Month, at all of our various events, tell me all kinds of stories about their own experiences and the past of this community … and some of our older folks especially, remember when we couldn’t have this,ā€ Hampton Roads Pride President Jeff Ryder told the Washington Blade on Monday during a telephone interview.

ā€œIt was a great year,ā€ he added. “It was a big achievement for us to have unique celebrations in each of our seven communities. Each of these cities is so different from one another, but to be able to create a Pride celebration that’s unique in each of those places was really great, and I think really well received by folks who may not have felt represented previously. We’re always trying to do better, to embrace every aspect of our community, and take a big step forward there this year.ā€

State Dels. Adele McClure (D-Arlington County) and Alfonso Lopez (D-Arlington County) are among those who spoke at Arlington Pride that took place at Long Bridge Park on June 29. The Fredericksburg Pride march and festival took place the same day at Riverfront Park in Fredericksburg.

Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on June 10 hosted a Pride Month reception in Richmond. 

Youngkin in previous years has hosted Pride Month receptions, even though Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups have criticized him for supporting anti-LGBTQ bills.

The Republican governor in March signed a bill that codified marriage equality in Virginia. Youngkin last month vetoed a measure that would have expanded the definition of bullying in the state. 

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Baltimore

Baltimore street named in honor of trans activist

Iya Dammons is founder of support groups Safe Haven in Baltimore, D.C.

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Iya Dammons was honored last week in Baltimore. (Photo courtesy Iya Dammons)

Baltimore city officials and LGBTQ activists participated in a ceremony on June 29 officially dedicating the renaming of a street in honor of transgender woman Iya Dammons, who founded and serves as executive director of the LGBTQ services organization Maryland Safe Haven.

A section of Baltimoreā€™s 21st Street at the intersection of North Charles Street, where the Maryland Safe Haven offices are located, has been renamed Iya Dammons Way.

The ceremony took place six years after Dammons founded Maryland Safe Haven in 2018 and one year after she launched a Safe Haven operation in D.C.in 2023 located at 331 H St., N.E.

A statement on its website says Safe Haven provides a wide range of supportive services for LGBTQ people in need, with a special outreach to Black trans women ā€œnavigating survival modeā€ living.

ā€œThrough compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,ā€ the statement says. ā€œOur programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,ā€ it says.

Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scottā€™s Office of LGBTQ Affairs Alexis Blackmon, and Dominique Morgan, an official with the national foundation Borealis Philanthropy, which provides financial support for transgender supportive nonprofit organizations, including Safe Haven.

ā€œThis is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,ā€ a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. ā€œIya Dammons has been a tireless advocate for transgender rights and has worked tirelessly to provide safe spaces and resources for transgender individuals in our city,ā€ it says. ā€œThis honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.ā€

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Baltimore

Despite record crowds, Baltimore Prideā€™s LGBTQ critics say organizers dropped the ball

People on social media expressed concern about block party stampede

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Miss Gay Maryland Stormi Skye waves as she continues down the parade route at Baltimore Pride on June 15, 2024. (Photo by Kaitlin Newman/Baltimore Banner)

BY JOHN-JOHN WILLIAMS IV | This yearā€™s Baltimore Pride Week attracted 150,000 people ā€” record attendance that far exceeded initial projections of 100,000.

But some see room for improvement and want organizers to address safety issues and make changes so the annual event that celebrates the LGBTQ population is better run.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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