GMHC's Meal Program Receives another PERFECT Inspection Report with ZERO Violation Points

by David Hind

I know that we’re all familiar with the NYC Department of Health (DOH) restaurant inspection and ratings system. How many of us have walked away from a restaurant because of that big blue “C” or GRADE PENDING in the window? The strict standards that are used in those inspections are also applied to the GMHC's Meals Program Kitchen & Dining Room. Last year, not too long after we moved into the new space we were visited by a NYC DOH Inspector as expected and did very well. For the first time in the history of the Meals Program we received a perfect inspection report with ZERO violation points. (A DOH “A” rating can include up to 13 violation points.) Clearly the team did a great job maintaining the high program standards and benefited greatly by having a brand new space and all new equipment.

Yesterday, we had a surprise inspection by NYC DOH. The Inspector arrived in the middle of a very busy lunch service and ran through the entire operation, moving equipment and storage shelving, testing the temperatures of all of the food on site (both food in storage and food being prepared and served), checked inside, outside, under, over  and around all of the equipment and service stations, inspected the condiment and beverage station and observed service on the line and throughout the dining room. After compiling all of his notes, measurements and findings he submitted his final report. One year after moving into our new home the Meals Program received another PERFECT Inspection Report with ZERO Violation Points. If they gave non-profit food service programs a posted grade you’d see a Big Blue A+ on the dining room doors thanks to Chef Wilson and his team--Crystal, Lydell and Andre and their support team of students and volunteers! They are a hardworking, dedicated team who do their work with passion and commitment to serve our clients with pride! 

GMHC's Meals Program - A+!

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David Hind is the Director of GMHC's Volunteer, Work & Wellness Center.

Tim Sweeney's Remarks at GMHC's 30th Anniversary Dinner

We are proud and delighted that Tim Sweeney returned to New York on April 18 to receive the award named in memory of Judith Peabody, one of his great allies and champions in the very critical years of his GMHC leadership. Below are his compelling and inspiring remarks.

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I am thrilled to be here in the company of so many dear friends and colleagues and recognized alongside the Rudin Family and Duane Reade.

I want to remember Judy Peabody, whose great heart, clear head and iron will touched so many lives.  I remember when my brother Mark had one of his first hospitalizations at New York Presbyterian.  His first night he was frightened, a bit discombobulated, anxious and chilled.  My brotherly care was falling short.  Judy appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, leaned into my brother and said, “Is there anything I can get you?” My brother had not really spoken to Judy before and like most of us on a first conversation with this stylish force was a bit tongue-tied.  He muttered, “Another blanket would be nice.” I hadn’t been able to get another blanket for love nor money.  Judy dashed out, came back in five minutes with a blank and said, “Here you are Mark. I have spoken with friends here and they will take care to watch out for you.” She said that with her famous steady gaze into my brother’s eyes, her short, tight smile and a kiss to both us as she was off to offer her care to another friend, colleague or stranger.

Compassion seemed to come naturally with Judy.  Compassion requires imagination—seeing ourselves in someone else’s shoes.  The greater the imagination, the greater the ability to empathize and see beyond our self and our limits.  To dream of what should be not what is.

The great gift and strength of GMHC has been to imagine a world where we have a vaccine and a cure for HIV, where healthcare (including mental health and substance abuse treatment) is universal and human rights embraced.  For 30 years tens of thousands of people—clients, volunteers, board members and donors—have come to this organization and put their collective imaginations to work, to dream of what should be not what is and create that world of which we dream.  You, we have confronted and overcome fear and stigma, invented prevention and care systems, played smart politics, acted up, held our leaders and institutions accountable and changed the course of this pandemic.  And we have so much more to get done.  GMHC must and will draw the best from us.

I started my LGBT advocacy 35 years ago.  I have been incredibly blessed to join up with so many inspirational colleagues, most mentoring me at some point along the way. My life’s work has taught me that compassion and imagination can go a very long way.  My journey has gone from no openly gay elected officials and then there was Harvey Milk and now 35 US Mayors, four openly gay US representatives and Tammy Baldwin on her way to the US Senate.  I remember fighting a California ballot initiative that would have banned gay people from teaching in public schools to now thousands of gay/straight alliances in high schools and middle schools across this country and the largest Day of Silence yet coming on Friday, April 20.  I remember filing an early legal case at Lambda trying to get the court to allow two elder men to adopt each other because they needed protection, god forbid they should get married, to marriage in this beautiful Empire State—and watch out Washington, Maine, Minnesota, Maryland and North Carolina you are up next.  I remember an appearance on the Phil Donahue Show with openly gay vets.  We were suing to get the Veteran’s Day Parade to let gay vets march.  We failed.  And now open and proud lesbian and gay service members protect our country.  I remember a Today Show appearance calling out HIV discrimination by insurance companies and being threatened with lawsuits to now a president and administration that passed a healthcare reform law that covers anyone with a pre-existing condition and then administratively ban discrimination on sexual orientation and gender identity in state health insurance exchange activities.

So friends, dreams come true.  We have much to do.  The news headlines are enough to make you scream and run away to a distant island.  But the better path is to reach out to a new person, organization, cause.  Think anew about how we do our work.  Stretch our minds and imagine, open your hearts even more. Ever onward.  Thank you.

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Tim’s biography reads like a 30-year history of the progressive LGBT movement and the fight against AIDS.   Since the very beginning of the epidemic, Tim served as the executive director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, successfully suing landlords in the nation’s first HIV discrimination case.  From 1986 to 1993, he was deputy director and then executive director of GMHC.  Under Tim’s leadership, GMHC formed a national coalition to press Washington to pass anti-discrimination laws and to secure passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Ryan White Care Act – two seminal pieces of legislation that are relied on to this day.

After his years of AIDS work, Tim turned to state organizing, serving as the deputy executive director for programs of the Empire State Pride Agenda and Foundation, where he helped to assure passage of New York State's anti-hate crimes law.  As program director of the Evelyn & Walter Hass, Jr. Fund's equality and justice and nonprofit leadership and governance programs in San Francisco, Tim helped build one of  America's largest funders of the LGBT movement.  Continuing in that tradition, Tim is now the president and chief executive officer of the Denver-based Gill Foundation, one of the nation's largest funders of LGBT equal rights work, which has invested more than $197 million across the country in support of equal rights for all Americans.

 

From Village to Village in NYC, Still Battling AIDS Stigma

by Marjorie Hill, PhD

This year, Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), the oldest HIV/AIDS service organization in the world, will commemorate 30^th years.  Much has changed since the 1980s at the beginning of this global disaster.  As GMHC was forming, some of our first tasks were to care and advocate for people dying of AIDS.  Today, through the ongoing expansion of our services, we assist people living with HIV and AIDS, and help prevent new infections.  Living or dying, our mission has focused on the right to dignity.  We have counseled youth who carry profound shame for being HIV-positive.  We have yelled at rallies to stop blaming gay men for this disease, testified at hearings on housing discrimination against people living with AIDS, advocated for more funding to address the needs of women who live in silence with HIV-- all to show that stigma has remained immersed in the epidemic.  While the word, stigma (or a “mark of disgrace”), sounds archaic and perhaps biblical, its lethal reach is ever-present—blocking people from HIV testing, imprisoning HIV-positive people in fear of rejection from families and friends, and setting up people for sexual violence if they try to negotiate safer sex.

From the East Village to Queens Village, from the Village of Harlem to the “Village” of East New York, we are still battling AIDS stigma. And there are those who simply do not understand this phenomenon.  Why, they say, is this still true?  We have lots of community-based organizations in NYC, public service campaigns in the subways, what more is needed?  The answer is, in fact, “more.”  AIDS stigma is embedded in how people feel about having sex, who they are when they are having sex and the skills needed to negotiate safer sex.  Since so many people do not want to talk about all kinds of sex—and not just the sex we think looks good on TV—we need more safe and non-judgmental spaces to support people to talk about sex. 

The fact that AIDS stigma is embedded in complex issues such as homophobia, cultural and religious rules, poverty and sexism which help fuel this epidemic, there is a considerable need for more complex webs of HIV/AIDS services.  The work of empowering people living with or at risk of HIV doesn’t just come in one form.  When we integrate job placement, hot meals and psychological counseling with legal services, GED classes and medical care, we successfully help those who are stigmatized.  

While increases in HIV/AIDS services cost more money, the impact of AIDS stigma is even more expensive.  Recently, a family affected by HIV/AIDS was kicked out of their home because the landlord found out the father died of AIDS. They ended up in a city shelter and we know the shelter system is very costly for the city’s administration to manage.  We were able to work with this family to help them find a more permanent home and linkages to care.  As their lives become more stabilized, this family will be able to move forward with continuing their education, seeking work, paying taxes—thus contributing to the city. 

In GMHC’s 30^th year, we remain committed to providing supportive services to thousands of men, women and families affected by HIV/AIDS, HIV testing and prevention programs, and advocacy for sound public health policies.  And through our courageous and compassionate hard work, we will persevere in battling AIDS stigma.  Ultimately, it still takes a village and New York City’s “villages” benefit from our collective efforts to decrease new infections and support those living with HIV and AIDS.

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Marjorie J. Hill, PhD is the Chief Executive Officer of Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC).  Her article first appeared in The Huffington Post on April 17, 2012.

GMHC Commemorates its 30th Year of HIV/AIDS Services at New York Anniversary Gala

Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), the nation’s oldest AIDS service organization, will host a gala fundraising event on Wednesday, April 18, 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, at Gotham Hall.  The evening will commemorate the agency’s 30^th year of prevention, care and advocacy services for thousands affected by HIV/AIDS.  At the 30^th anniversary event, GMHC will honor three outstanding corporate, social justice and charitable leaders:  Duane Reade, corporate sponsor of AIDS Walk New York; Timothy Sweeney, President and CEO of the Gill Foundation; and the Rudin Family, one of New York’s leading philanthropic families.  The evening will consist of a cocktail reception, a luxury silent auction and an exclusive live auction prizes along with an elegant dinner prepared by the renowned Chef of Butter and The Darby and Food Network TV Star, Alexandra Guarnaschelli.

 

“We are profoundly humbled and grateful for the remarkable leadership, commitment and philanthropy of our three honorees,” said Marjorie Hill, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of GMHC. “Through their collective legacy and support, they keep GMHC moving forward –and strong, effective and resilient.”

Duane Reade:  The history of GMHC can be understood in great measure by the history of AIDS Walk New York.  The two have been intertwined since 1986.  In its 27-year history, AIDS Walk New York has become the largest single-day AIDS fundraising event in the world — and GMHC would not be what it is without it.  Since 2002, Duane Reade — New York’s neighborhood drugstore — has been supporting AIDS Walk New York, and in 2010 became the event’s first-ever Presenting Sponsor. That year, combining a corporate contribution with funds raised through a citywide campaign of pin-up red ribbons in their stores, Duane Reade contributed an unprecedented $325,000 to the Walk and to the vital work of GMHC.  This tradition continued last year and will again next month at AIDS Walk New York 2012. Already, Duane Reade’s commitment has exceeded $1 million, and there is every indication that this extraordinary partnership will last well into the future.

“We are proud of the progressive support we’ve been able to provide annually for GMHC and more specifically Aids Walk New York,” said Robin Costa, President, Duane Reade Charitable Foundation and Senior Director of Human Resources for Duane Reade. “I’ve been inspired and humbly honored to actively participate in the Walk with the support of many Duane Reade employees by my side along the way.”

Tim Sweeney:  Tim’s biography reads like a 30-year history of the progressive LGBT movement and the fight against AIDS.   Since the very beginning of the epidemic, Tim served as the executive director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, successfully suing landlords in the nation’s first HIV discrimination case.  From 1986 to 1993, he was deputy director and then executive director of GMHC.  Under Tim’s leadership, GMHC formed a national coalition to press Washington to pass anti-discrimination laws and to secure passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Ryan White Care Act – two seminal pieces of legislation that are relied on to this day.

The Rudin Family’s philanthropic philosophy has always been about giving back to the city that has given it so much opportunity.  The family is deeply involved in supporting many of the top medical facilities and social service organizations in New York City as well as being major supporters of education and the arts.  Rudin family members serve on the boards of Memorial Sloan Kettering, The Metropolitan Museum of New York, Love Heals: The Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education, Central Park Conservancy, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Whitney Museum, The Police Foundation, and The Cooper Hewitt Museum.

The family’s connection to GMHC goes back to Beth Rudin DeWoody’s friendship with Nathan Kolodner when he was President of the Board of Directors. The family’s first gift to GMHC dates back to 1985 and has continued uninterrupted to this day. Throughout three decades, the family’s leadership has included early support of GMHC’s landmark AIDS Hotline and Child Life Program, and chairing and sponsoring numerous special events. One of the family’s greatest gifts was the participation of Eric Rudin on GMHC’s Board of Directors from 1997 through 2005. Prior to that, Eric volunteered for two years on the Hotline and since then, with his wife Fiona, has continued to provide support to all of GMHC’s programs and services. 

Since the very beginning, GMHC has been at the forefront in the fight against AIDS.  In the summer of 1981, a group of six gay men, and their friends, gathered in a New York apartment to address the “gay cancer” and raise money for research.  Over the next three decades, GMHC has continued to lead the fight through its activism, innovative HIV prevention and testing programs, and comprehensive care services including legal services, mental health support and nutritious meals – all offered free of charge to more than 11,000 men, women and families living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. To purchase tickets or make a donation, please click here or call (212) 367-1389.

Lisa Lampanelli Says...

by Joshua Estrin, Pop Culture Examiner
 
Check out all my musings HERE and please follow my pals Lisa and GMHC on Twitter
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Credit: Josh Estrin

When I got the opportunity to take our Twitter “romance” to the next level and interview Lisa Lampanelli I was beyond excited, but I really didn’t know what to expect.   Clearly, no one as funny as she happens by accident.  So I knew I would be talking to one smart cookie.   I was not disappointed as Lisa (since we are now “bestsies”) is caustic, controversial and at times a bit crazy, but she is also unbelievably sensitive and insightful and not afraid to show that side as freely as her more public persona.

Credit: Lisa Lampanelli

So in a sit down and whack ya up side the head with ya’ funny bone, Lampanelli shoots the “breeze” as only she can and doesn’t hold anything back…

Joshua Estrin: If you weren’t a comedian, what other profession (s) interest you?

Lisa Lampanelli: Ya’ know, some people have great answers for questions like this.  They talk about wanting to be chefs, astro (fxxing) physicists… I don’t know, it ‘s simple for me.  I like to be funny, I like to think I am pretty damn funny so big surprise I always wanted to be a comedian.

JE: You are the queen of the roasts… Is there anything you won’t say?  Any topics taboo?

LL: Anything I won’t say?  Yeah, I don’t say shxxt that isn’t funny.   If it’s not funny I won’t say it but if it is… That’s my job.   Take Whitney Houston for instance, if I am going to make a joke about her right after her death, I better make damn sure what I say is damn funny – AND IT WAS!

JE: Many people may not realize how philanthropic you are.   Why do you feel compelled to give back and do you have any charities that are especially important to you?

LL: For a long time I was a giver and then I don’t know... I got out of the habit, I forgot… Who knows, but to be honest I wasn’t doing what I could to help people.  One time I ended up going toe to toe with a bunch of “haters” from the West Baptist Church and I decided I was going to donate $1,000 dollars for EVERY protestor who showed up to spew their anti-LGBT crap.  $50,000 plus dollars later I was back in the giving mode and I think I made my point.  Don’t Fxxck with me and if ya do, I am going to find a way to make you look like an idiot and do some good for the people who deserve help and support.

As for my charities… I believe in the work of the NYC based charity Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC).   They take up a fxxcking city block and in that space they take care of business.  They help people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS and they give people a sense of purpose and dignity.

JE: What CAN you tell us about the Celebrity Apprentice?

LL: It is going to be one hell of season.  Some people were surprised how “reserved” I was in the first episode…  Don’t get used to it.   I am menopausal and I play to win.  Those men are so damn boring I feel like I could perform a bodily function on the Boardroom table and it would be more interesting and some of the women on my team...

JE: What are the greatest misconceptions people have about you?

LL: Oh I don’t think people give a crxp about me.  I don’t think they stay up nights wondering what I’m really like when I’m not being me.  But, just in case one “freak” out there wants to know.  I work hard, really hard every day and yes shxt does bother me and I am not some bxitch without a soul.    Just in case one “freak” wants to know.

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Josh Estrin's interview was first published in the Examiner.com on March 16, 2012.

If We Knew Then What We Know Now...

by Ace Robinson

Would we have stopped AIDS? It is a valid question to ask, as the world has been aware of this epidemic for over 30 years. GMHC was passionately and courageously created 30 years ago by a group of gay men who did not know how far-reaching and devastating this disease would be to all corners of the Earth. We know through retrospective epidemiological data that the first confirmed American AIDS death occurred in 1969: a 15-year-old, sexually active young man in Saint Louis, Mo. who had never traveled abroad. And by the time HIV was isolated and identified in 1981, it had already found its target communities: people who have engaged in anal sex, injection-drug users, breastfed infants, and individuals who received medically sanctioned human tissue (i.e., donated blood or organ transplants).

During the early '80s in the States, a strong cultural shift had just occurred, from "free love" and "live and let live" to the conservative Christian movement led by Jerry Falwell. The Moral Majority had become a major player in the political field, which led to the election of President Ronald Reagan. The policies that would shape America for the next eight years would also mold America's response to the introduction of AIDS into the lives of countless individuals and the American lexicon.

Due to advances in diagnosis and treatment of the virus, in addition to the political activism of the direct and indirect victims of HIV/AIDS, the virus is no longer a death sentence for the estimated 1.2 to 1.5 million Americans who are affected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But lest we forget, these data, which seem so large, are a measure of the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in 2011. Thirty years ago, that number was exponentially smaller.

Imagine an America that only had around 10,000 to 20,000 persons with HIV/AIDS, and a world that may have had about 70,000 to 100,000 total cases. Couple that information with the knowledge that a muted health care response would eventually lead to 2 million deaths annually. Would it have been morally acceptable to demonize particular populations?

We have all heard countless justifications for why some people "got it," without any level of sympathy. These sentiments are based on racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, and/or prejudice against addicts. Typically, bleeding hearts only pour out to individuals who are considered without fault in their HIV status, such as newborns or hemophiliacs.

After 30 years of AIDS, we know what works and, more importantly, what does not work. We know that first and foremost, education is the greatest deterrent to infection (if one is HIV-negative) or infecting another person (if one is HIV-positive). Furthermore, we have seen the effect of readily available medication (anti-retroviral drugs) on the level of impact that HIV/AIDS has on an individual and on a community. And we have seen effective public health initiatives that have saved countless lives, domestically and internationally (e.g., syringe needle exchanges).

Moreover, after 30 years of AIDS, we know that our leaders have a choice of when, how, and to whom any and all interventions are available. To the ultimate detriment of 20 million people each year, those interventions are often not available, sometimes due to funding, and sometimes due to normative culture values that punish those most in need: the world's outcasts.

It is not being cynical to suggest that if we knew then what we know now, all possible barriers to the spread of HIV/AIDS would have been enacted. Even in 2011, Congress has taken actions that will diminish headway in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Reinstating the federal ban on syringe-exchange funding, coupled with funding for abstinence-only education, unfortunately shows a trade of proven-effective health policy for proven-ineffective actions.

As HIV public health advocates, our hope is that the correct actions are taken so that in a few decades, we do not look back and wonder why the tools that we have today were not utilized. There is no viable excuse for knowing now what we already know and still not doing the right thing.

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Ace Robinson is the Managing Director of of Community Health & Research, Public Policy, and Advocacy.  His article first appeared in The Huffington Post on March 7, 2012.