News Briefs

New Houston Black Lesbian and Gay Coalition Opens Office in Community Center, Hosts June 19 Reception

Community activist Steven Jerome has organized the Houston Black Lesbian and Gay Coalition, a new resource organization for African-American GLBT people. The coalition has opened an office in the Houston Lesbian & Gay Community Center (803 Hawthorne) and will hold a welcome reception at the center on Wednesday, June 19, at 7:30 p.m. That date is Juneteenth, the annual commemoration of the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston with news of the Emancipation Proclamation.

"HBLAGC has been organized to bring unity, strength, cohesiveness, education, and solidarity to the African-American GLBT community in Houston and surrounding areas," Jerome said. "The purpose is to disperse information concerning various organizations and activities of interest to the African-American community."

Jerome identifies four main areas of work for the coalition:

• Education. Through information and counseling, the coalition will help African-American GLBT individuals further their education and take advantage of grants and programs.

• HIV/AIDS. The coalition will work to make the African-American GLBT community aware of the threat of sexually transmitted diseases, the prevention of infection, and how those living with HIV/AIDS can maintain a comfortable standard of living.

• Finance. The coalition will offer programs to educate African-American GLBT individuals on managing finances and increasing their spending power.

• Visibility. The coalition aims to make African-American GLBT people a more visible and a viable part of the African-American community, the GLBT community, and the Houston community.

Jerome also leads another new group, Men of All Shades Houston (MASH), which meets at the community center on the second Sunday of the month at 2 p.m.

The Houston Black Lesbian and Gay Coalition office is located on the second floor of the community center. Coalition office hours are 10 a.m.-noon, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The telephone number is 832/455-2032. The e-mail address is HBLAGC@aol.com.

Veterans Group Changes Name to Include Trans Vets

The Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans of America (GLBVA) has changed its name to the American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER). "As it was, our name (GLBVA) was not inclusive of transgender/transsexual, two-spirit, and heterosexual members," said Jim Donovan, AVER president. Approved at the organization’s national convention in May in San Diego, the name change affects chapters nationwide, including two in Texas.

"For the first time since the organization's inception, we are able to lead by example," said B. K. Silva, president of the Houston AVER chapter, "demanding equal rights and protections for all American veterans because we respect and honor the service of all American veterans."

A color guard of local AVER members will lead the Pride parade in Houston on June 29. On June 1, an AVER Houston contingent will also attend the first Pride parade in Austin in a decade, and local members will march in the San Antonio parade on June 15.

Over the past 18 months, the Houston AVER chapter has more than tripled in size, Silva says. The group meets on the first Monday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Houston Lesbian & Gay Community Center (803 Hawthorne). For more information, contact Silva at 713/661-7561 or Bsirious@aol.

NAMES Project Houston, Other Local Quilt Chapters Close

The local chapter of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt closed in April, reflecting changes in the national organization. In addition to NAMES Project Houston, chapters shuttered in Ohio, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Syracuse, New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, the city where the quilt began in 1987.

In March, the quilt left San Francisco for a new permanent home in Atlanta. The new national office for the NAMES Project opened in Washington, D.C., in April. The Names Project Foundation board of directors voted in 1997 to relocate the quilt and the national office to the eastern United States, in part to increase proximity to other national and international AIDS service organizations.

At the same time, the national office imposed new rules on local chapters governing fund-raising and increased shipping costs for quilt panels. That new reality, combined with a decline in volunteers in some cities, including Houston and San Francisco, convinced the local chapters to close.

NAMES Project Houston, one of the most vital local chapters, opened in 1988. Upon closing the organization, the board of directors gave the entire NAMES Project Houston archive to the Gulf Coast Archive and Museum of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender History (GCAM). This donation included photographs and photo albums, posters, certificates, awards, trophies, and more. Some of these objects are now on display in a GCAM satellite exhibition at the Houston Lesbian & Gay Community Center (803 Hawthorne). NAMES Project Houston also donated a glass display case to GCAM, which the museum will keep at the community center to hold changing groups of objects from its collection.

Montrose Clinic Launches Healthcare Program for Uninsured

Known for 20 years as a resource for HIV/AIDS treatment, Montrose Clinic has launched a new program to provide healthcare to individuals with no insurance. Called Community Care, the program is designed to serve GLBT people as well as people who live and work in the clinic’s neighborhood. Treatment will be offered on a fee-for-service basis.

With its focus on the GLBT community, the new program will be the first of its kind in Houston and one of only a few in the nation, according to the clinic’s Sonna Alton. "Our goal is to provide high-quality primary and acute healthcare in a safe, comfortable, and judgment-free atmosphere, andto encourage overall health and wellness among populations who traditionally do not access preventive healthcare," she said.

Serving individuals who are not HIV positive will be the focus of Community Care. Other Montrose Clinic programs will continue serving people living with HIV and AIDS. "Overall health and wellness is a key component in preventing the spread of HIV and other serious diseases," Alton said.

The Montrose Clinic is located at 215 Westheimer. The telephone number is 713/830-3000.

Clinics Step Up for National HIV Testing Day

Montrose Clinic and Thomas Street Clinic will both mark National HIV Testing Day on Thursday, June 27, by offering free, confidential , and anonymous HIV tests to the public at various locations.

Thomas Street will provide testing from 9 a.m.—2 p.m. Throughout the day, Thomas Street (2015 Thomas Street) will show an informative video about HIV and HIV prevention.

Montrose Clinic will offer testing at the clinic (215 Westheimer).from 11 a.m.—7 p.m. In addition, clinic staff will offer tests at the following clubs:

Toyz (5322 Glenmont), 10 p.m.—1 a.m.

Brazos River Bottom (2400 Brazos), 8 p.m.—midnight

EJ’s (2517 Ralph), 8 p.m.—midnight

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the driving force behind National HIV Testing Day. Access www.hivtest.org for information on HIV and links to resources.

Health Leaders Make Plans for National Health Summit in August

Leaders in the field of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex health will converge on Boulder, Colorado, from August 21 through 25 for what is expected to be their largest summit and strategy session in over a decade. The National LGBTI Health Summit 2002 is organized by a 10-person collective under the umbrella of the Boulder County AIDS Project and received major funding from the Gill Foundation and Bristol Meyers Squibb.

Health activists, public health workers, medical professionals, HIV-prevention leaders, and community-based service providers will convene in response to a range of challenges currently facing LGBTI health advocates nationwide. These factors include a dramatic drop-off of funding for nonprofit organizations and LGBTI health clinics in the aftermath of the September 11 disasters, escalating controversies surrounding appropriate responses to transgender and intersex health concerns, and accusations by public health authorities of community irresponsibility in the face of rising gay male rates of sexually transmitted infections.

"We are coming together at a very critical time for LGBTI communities throughout the nation," said Eric Rofes, long-time community organizer and summit convener. "In Boulder, we intend to chart exciting new directions for the movement, strategize about new ways to assist our communities as they navigate the complex and fragile healthcare systems of our nation, and ignite new initiatives as we catapult our movement forward."

For more information about registration and community housing, contact Mark Beyer at 303/444-6121 or mark@bcap.org or visit the website at www.healthsummit2002.org. Limited scholarships and community housing are available.