Center Submits Proposal to Organize Capital Pride

On December 11, The Center submitted to the Whitman-Walker clinic one of three proposals to organize Capital Pride, DC's annual GLBT Pride Celebration. The other proposals were submitted by Westminster Presbyterian Church's Southwest Renaissance Development Corporation, a non-profit business set up to foster economic developement in low-income neighborhoods, and by a new entity called Capital Pride Alliance. Whitman-Walker's decision to withdraw as the event's producer was announced October 11. For more information, see this article in the Washington Blade.

Congratulations to Chris Dyer

Today, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty announced the appointment of Christopher Dyer as the Director for the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Affairs.

A longtime LGBT civic activist, Dyer has served as interim director for the office since February 7, 2007. where he created a comprehensive directory of organizations that provide services and activities for those in the LGBT community, partnered with local organizations to hold community forums and organized a job fair and a career day for transgender residents. The office is also in the process of organizing a development training and economic development conference to be held in the fall.

Professionally, Dyer has worked for a variety of non-profit organizations since graduating from Ithaca College with a bachelor’s degree in history in 1992. He recently worked for the American Lung Association as a manager of member services for the professional development organization for the Lung Association staff.

Dyer started his 2nd term as an ANC Commissioner representing Logan Circle. He is currently the vice chair of the commission focusing primarily on crime prevention, development and parking challenges facing the community. Dyer also serves the city as a Human Rights Commissioner.

In 1997, Dyer founded the Youth Pride Alliance, a 501(c)3 organization that sponsors an annual Youth Pride Event for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered (LBGT) and questioning youth and their supporters. Dyer has also volunteered as the marketing and communications committee chair for the Crystal Meth Working Group and Secretary for the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club. He has served on ten Capital Pride planning committees and as a member of Mayor Anthony Williams' LGBT Advisory Committee.

In 2001, Dyer received the Gene Frey Award for Excellence in Volunteering from Whitman Walker Clinic and in 2003 he was named a Capital Pride Hero for his outstanding contributions to the LGBT community. Dyer has recently been honored by the DC Center for his contributions to the Crystal Meth Working Group. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking through Rock Creek Park and singing in various local karaoke establishments.

Celebrate Latino LGBT Heritage Friday September 14th

The Latino GLBT History Project in collaboration with The Center cordially invites you and your family to the opening reception and the celebration of the Hispanic Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Heritage Month 2007 to be held on Friday, September 14, 2007 from 6:00pm. -9:00pm. at The Center, 1111 14th St. NW, Suite 350, Washington, DC.

The reception will feature Fotos y Recuerdos: A Historic Exhibit of the DC Latino GLBT Community. We will also honor six longtime Latino LGBT leaders: Yajaira Arreaza, Eva Young, Victoria Armani, Ruby Corado, Mario Acosta-Velez and Jose Ucles. There will be a special performance by Sherrie Van Crawford. Speakers include: Letitia Gomez, Lisbeth Melendez Rivera and Christopher Dyer. Latin food and refreshments will be served.

“This is a great opportunity for The Latino GLBT History Project and The Center to celebrate, recognize and honor the rich contributions of our leaders. This year’s exhibit, Fotos y Recuerdos, is an astonishing and unique collection of photographs and memorabilia from the mid 1980’s to the present,” said Jose Gutierrez, Director of the Latino GLBT History Project.

The entire LGBT community is invited to attend this important event. The exhibit will be on display from September 14 to October 15, 2007 in the offices of The Center which is located at 1111 14th St. NW # 350, Washington, DC 20005.

download the flyer for this event

Cheryl Spector Remembered

The Washington Blade reports, that Cheryl Spector died today after a 10-week battle with leukemia, according to Rainbow History.

Cheryl will be remembered for many things in her life. She was an LGBT activist, a historian, a fierce supporter of our local drag kings, and she was an AIDS activist.

Cheryl was actively involved in ACT UP DC in the early days of the epidemic. She joined after losing her brother to AIDS. She has been a force in Washington ever since I got here (and long before) and she will be greatly missed.

For more about Cheryl, click here to read a tribute to her from an awards ceremony in 2004.

LGBTQ Training July 20th

The DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Break the Cycle invite you to a full day LGBTQ Training.

This free training is appropriate for social workers, advocates,government employees, police, attorneys, counselors, teachers, etc. The goal is to better understand the myths and realities surrounding lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning people and their experience of violence.

For more information, download this flyer.

Job Opening at SMYAL

CDC Project Coordinator: SMYAL seeks an experienced youth service professional to work with a federally funded project for African American young men who sleep with men (YMSM’s) to help coordinate all activities and events relevant to Project Our Voices Against AIDS (OVAH) using the Centers for Disease Contol and Prevention (CDC) proven effective intervention Many Men, Many Voices (3MV). For more information, including a complete job posting and instructions for applying, please visit: www.smyal.org/jobopenings/cdcproject.pdf.

Today's Transgender Pride Celebration

I had a great time at today's Transgender Pride Celebration. If you would like to see a few pictures from the event, click here.

A number of AIDS Service Organizations exhibited at the fair including Us Helping Us, Andromeda Transcultural Health Center, and Different Avenues.

And of course, many transgender groups were there including Transgender Health Empowerment, the DC Trans Coalition, and the Transgender Education Association of Greater Washington.

Thursday Night: The State of Black Gay Men's Health

The National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition is organizing a town hall on The State of Black Gay Men's Health. The event takes place on Thursday, May 24th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (reception to follow) at the Renaissance M Street Hotel (City Center I, Lower Level).

The Renaissance is at 1143 New Hampshire Ave, NW, closest to the Dupont Circle or Foggy Bottom Metro Stop. To download the flyer for this event, click here.

Sponsors for this event include Us Helping Us, DC Black Pride, National Black Gay Men's Advocacy Coalition, and the DC Department of Health.

Howard University: Preventing HIV/AIDS among Men Who Have Sex with Men

Howard University Hospital will be on of several sites nationwide hosting a CDC Satellite Broadcast on May 17th entitled: "Preventing HIV/AIDS among Men Who Have Sex with Men."

The goal of this forum is to (1) raise awareness about the on-going crisis of HIV/AIDS among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM), (2) promote greater understanding of the current issues that affect HIV/AIDS risk among MSM, and (3) encourage providers of HIV prevention services to implement effective interventions and strategies to reduce HIV transmission among MSM. Research and programs across the country will be highlighted, and a panel of experts will address
questions from viewers.

This broadcast is designed for organizations that plan and implement HIV prevention activities including health departments, community-based programs, the faith community, colleges and universities, and HIV prevention researchers as well as policy makers and news media

The broadcast will take place from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM. If you are interested in attending this event at Howard University, contact Kevin McMullan: click here for details.

If you would rather watch the web-cast of this event, find out more at www.cdcnpin-broadcast.org.

Washington Blade Article on Circumcision as an HIV Prevention Strategy

Dr. Stephen Fallon has an article in today's Washington Blade discussing circumcision as HIV prevention strategy. Fallon writes "No, this isn’t a plot synopsis for “Nip & Tuck.” Circumcising adult men reduces their susceptibility to HIV infection by a large enough margin that New York City’s Department of Health is considering promoting, and possibly even paying for the procedure. The United Nations has even developed a kit to teach doctors in developing nations how to perform a circumcision safely on adults."

Fallon goes on to discuss how circumcision applies to HIV prevention in detail. It's a good article, but I was disappointed to see that he didn't reference the one study that has looked at circumcision specifically in gay men. This study was not designed to look specifically at circumcision (not randomized, controlled, like the Kenya and Uganda Studies). Still, it is the best data we have.

This longitudinal study which enrolled 3257 gay men in six US cities from 1995 to 1997, also found a difference between circumcised and uncircumcised men. This study followed men at high risk for HIV over a period of 18 months. The study showed "lack of circumcision was independently associated with a two fold risk of prevalent infection." [Buchbinder SP et al. Sexual risk, nitrite inhalant use, and lack of circumcision associated with HIV seroconversion in men who have sex with men in the United States. JAIDS 39(1):82-9. 2005.]

Read the entire article here

LGBT Leaders Endorse John Edwards

If you'll allow me to go slightly off-topic for a moment ... Yesterday John Edwards released a list of 25 National LGBT Leaders who support John Edwards for President and I am proud to have my name on that list.

Nobody should be put on a waiting list to receive the medication they need to stay alive. Yet over 500 Americans are in that situation at this very moment due to insufficient federal funding for State AIDS Drug Assistance Programs. John Edwards has put together a bold, and achievable plan to fix the broken health care system in our country. The Edwards Health Plan is good for people living with HIV/AIDS, and good for all Americans.

That is one of the many reasons I am supporting his campaign. I encourage you to visit www.johnedwards.com to find out more.

ACTION June Lunch: Transgender Community Involvement in HIV/AIDS Clinical Research

Please join us for the June ACTION (AIDS Clinical Trials Information & Orientation Lunch) on June 14th at 1:00 PM at the DC CARE Consortium. DC CARE is located at 1156 15th Street NW Sweet 500, closest to the McPherson Metro.

We will have a panel discussion on Transgender Community Involvement in HIV/AIDS Clinical Research. What are the unique issues transgender trial participants face? How do researchers collect information about sex and gender in clinical studies? Join us for a panel presentation and discussion on transgender community involvement in HIV/AIDS Research.

To RSVP for this event, click here. If that link doesn't work (idealist has been acting up lately) you can e-mail me or call 202 223 9550 ext 15.

Transgender Health Empowerment Job Opportunity

Transgender Health Empowerment is currently seeking a Peer Health Educator/Outreach Worker. The position seeks a qualified candidate to implement Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prevention services within the T.H.E. Prevention office to the transgender population. To find out more, click here.

Gay Men's Health & Wellness in the District

Did you know that in London and other cities, gay men are already asking doctors for the HPV Vaccine? The HPV Vaccine has been tested in women, and current studies are testing the vaccine for gay men. But some gay men, who believe it will benefit them, are already asking for it, and their doctors are giving it to them.

Now I'm not saying to go out and demand the HPV vaccine from your doctor. After all, there area reasons why we do clinical trials, and as far as I'm concerned, I can wait until this study is finished.

I do mention this, however, because it blows me away that these gay men are so well informed, and so proactive in asking for what they need to stay healthy.

Chris Rothermel, Jared Shenk, and I have been talking lately about gay men's health and wellness in the District of Columbia. We've talked about the HPV Vaccine Study, but we also talked about the fact that many gay men haven't received HEP vaccinations, which are currently available.

And of course we've talked about HIV. Including prevention strategies like post-exposure prophylaxis, circumcision, and research on potential new strategies like pre-exposure prophylaxis, vaccines, and microbicides.

And we've talked about why gay men sometimes make bad decisions about risky behavior or substance use. Things like self-esteem, depression, and isolation.

Gay men's health and wellness covers a broad, broad spectrum, and there are so many things we have yet to really fully explore in Washington DC.

We'd like to begin that discussion. We're planning to pull together a small group of folks to put together a survey for gay men in the District so we can better understand what issues are most important to you. We've also talked about doing a resource inventory so we better understand what services are currently available in the district.

We're definitely NOT looking to start a new group or a new organization.

But we are looking for a few kindred spirits who may be interested in being part of this effort.

If you're interested - please shoot me an e-mail (or post a comment below) and let's get started.

DC HIV/AIDS Research Community Advisory Boards Post Open Letter

Three Washington DC Community Advisory Boards for HIV/AIDS Research have written a joint letter addressing sex and gender data collection in HIV/AIDS research. The letter is being posted online for one month so that interested CABS and community members can sign-on. All sign-ons must be received by May 11th. The letter will then be submitted to the Cross-CAB Working Group for NIH NIAID Division of AIDS (DAIDS) funded HIV/AIDS Research.

The three CABs are: The Capital Area Vaccine Effort which serves as the community CAB for the NIH Vaccine Research Center, The Georgetown University Medical Center CAB which is part of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group, and the Washington VA Medical Center CAB, which is part of the International Network for Strategic Initiatives in Global HIV Trials.

Most researchers have come to realize that the term 'sex' refers to birth sex or biological sex; and that the term 'gender' refers to someone's gender identity. This was discussed in detail at the Forum for Collaborative HIV/AIDS Research meeting on Sex and Gender, which I attended back in 2003. I guess I thought that since the meeting was co-sponsored by the CDC and the NIH that we would all be on the same page going forward. Sadly, their continues to be significant discrepancies across networks in how data on sex and gender is collected.

All we are really asking is for DAIDS to get their act together and collect data on sex and gender in a consistent and appropriate manner. This is the right thing to do for everyone, but it is particularly important for the transgender community.

You can find out more by clicking here. I hope that you will join us by signing on to the letter either as an individual or as an organization.

Transgender Health Empowerment Pageant

I had a great time last night at the Transgender Health Empowerment Pageant and Fundraiser held at Cada Vez. Here I am in the pictured on the left with the amazing activist Ruby Corado. You can see more pictures from the event here.

Transgender Health Empowerment (T.H.E.) is a great organization in DC focused on the health and well being of the Transgender (and bisexual, lesbian, and gay) community. Transgender Health Empowerment provides HIV prevention services as well as support services for those living with HIV/AIDS in DC.

These services are crucial. In a Washington DC Survey of the transgender community, 25% of all participants self-reported as HIV positive, while 22% said they did not know their HIV status. (The Washington Transgender Needs Assessment Survey. Jessica M. Xavier, Principal Investigator, Gender Education and Advocacy, Inc., Implemented by Us Helping Us-People into Living, Inc., Ron Simmons, PhD., Executive Director, Funded by the Administration for HIV and AIDS of the District of Columbia Government).

Kudos to the Gertrude Stein Democrats

Kudos to the Gertrude Stein Democrats. The Stein Democrats were one of the many organizations in DC that testified in support of Smoke-Free Workplace legislation. Now, they are taking their support of smoke-free workplaces to a new level. They decided at their last meeting:

"The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club will not sponsor, co-sponsor or send a representative to any indoor venue that permits smoking, including the National Democratic Club; and

The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club calls on that the National Democratic Club to withdraw its application for an exemption to the Department of Health Functions Clarification Amendment Act of 2006 and prohibit smoking inside of the club; and

The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club calls on the D.C. Democratic State Committee to likewise not sponsor, co-sponsor or send a representative to any indoor venue that permits smoking, including the National Democratic Club, and demand that the National Democratic Club to prohibit indoor smoking."

You can read the whole resolution right here. I've written often on this blog about why second-hand smoke hurts all of us, but it is particularly deadly for people living with HIV.

I'm thrilled to see Gertrude Stein Democrats taking a strong stand on this issue.

Gay Men: Let's Talk About Rectal Microbicides

What is a microbicide you might ask? In this context it's a foam, or a gel, or a liquid, that can be applied vaginally or rectally to assist in HIV prevention.

It's an exciting area of HIV prevention research. Condoms are essential to HIV prevention, but prevention can't be only about condoms. HIV vaccine research, HIV microbicide research, PREP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) research are all crucial. New studies also make it clear that circumcision can also reduce your risk for HIV.

Simply put, we need every possible tool at our disposal to prevent HIV. Watch this video to learn more about rectal microbicide research. To find out more about microbicide research in general, visit The Global Campaign for Microbicides. To find out more about rectal microbicide research, visit the International Rectal Microbicide Working Group.

DC Community Forum on Crystal Meth

The DC Crystal Meth Working Group held an open town hall on February 26th entitled ‘The State of the Crystal Meth Epidemic in Washington DC’, which was co-sponsored by several community groups (additional pictures from this event are available on our flickr page).

A number of speakers emphasized the connections between crystal meth (methamphetamine) and new HIV infections in the District of Columbia.

Dr. Mariana Niemtzoff, Director of Behavioral Health Services for Whitman Walker, stated that last year 73% of the clients receiving treatment for amphetamine use were HIV positive. This is an increase from previous years where the rate was around 55%.

A notable frustration during the coarse of the evening was lack of data from DOH (deja vous?), which makes it hard to know what's really happening with Meth in DC.

On a personal note as a gay guy in DC, I found myself wanting to hear more about why this drug has taken hold in the gay men's community, and why despite having all of the information and fully understanding the consequences, gay men in DC still make bad decisions about meth, about sex, and about other risk behaviors.

I know that I sometimes make bad decisions (yes, there, I said it) when I'm lonely, when I'm insecure, when I'm depressed, when I don't have my friends around, when the guy I'm with is really hot, etc .... Lots of reasons.

And for me, the solution to the meth problem is not just having a doctor make sure you understand the medical consequences of meth, and not just having a prosecutor make sure you understand the legal consequences of the meth.

For me the solution has to be addressing the heart of the matter: why, at certain times in our lives, these consequences just don't seem to matter ... and we end up making bad decisions about alcohol, or crystal, or meth, or whatever ...

As gay men we continue to live in a society that doesn't fully value who we are. And let's face it, sometimes we don't fully value each other.

We rarely talk about how depression impacts the health of gay men. And even more rare our conversations about how we build more inclusive, welcoming, and loving environments to support gay men in the DC.

I'm really inspired by work done in other parts of the country around this. Manifest Love, a group of gay men finding new ways to be with and for each other, is one example of what I'm talking about. Check out the site.

At any rate, I think the forum Monday night was a good start, and I'm glad the Crystal Meth Working Group is going to continue to work on this issue.

The mission of the DC Crystal Meth Working Group is to provide information and resources to help people make informed decisions about crystal meth. For more information, visit www.letstalkaboutmeth.org.

Capital Pride: June 9th - 10th

The Capital Pride Parade is scheduled for Saturday, June 9th, and the Festival for Sunday, June 10th. More information will be posted on the Capital Pride website in the near future: www.capitalpride.org.

New Interim Director for LGBT Affairs

Longtime DC LGBT advocate Christopher Dyer has been appointed as the new Interim Director for LGBT Affairs for the Fenty Administration. I can't imagine anyone else who deserves this more than Chris, and I'm thrilled that he has this opportunity.

Chris is currently an ANC Rep for ANC 2F03. He is the founder of Youth Pride Day and the Youth Pride Alliance. He was a 2006 officer of the Gertrude Stein Democrats. He is also actively involved in the Crystal Meth Working Group. He has raised money for many DC LGBT organizations including SMYAL and has been active in many other local efforts including Capital Pride, which earned him a volunteer award from Whitman-Walker Clinic.

Mayor Fenty is lucky to have Christopher Dyer on board. You can read the official press release right here.

Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance Reception: April 19

The Gay and Lesbian Activist Alliance (GLAA), an all volunteer, non-partisian, non-profit political organization that works to advance equality rights for gay men and lesbians in Washington, celebrates 36 years of advocacy with its anniversary reception.

GLAA has been a leader on numerous local HIV/AIDS issues in the District of Columbia and deserve much credit for this work. Find out more about GLAA at www.glaa.org.

Details about the 36th Anniversary Reception will be posted on the website in the near future.