Vanguard March 2014

L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Monthly Newsletter­­–Read By More Than 60,000 People

AMERICA, SO BEAUTIFUL

HOW THE CENTER’S YOUTUBE VIDEO INSPIRED THIS WOMAN TO STAY ALIVE pg. 8

The beginning of a new Vanguard era Looking for a few good men

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p. 14

MARCH 2014

MARCH 2014

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L E T T ER FRO M T HE CHIEF M A RK E T IN G O FFI CER

VANGUARD IS GOING GREEN(ER)!

Jim Key, Chief Marketing Officer

Every year we hear from respondents to our annual survey of Vanguard readers who tell us they would prefer to just receive a digital version of our award-winning newsletter. So early last year we created a tablet-friendly version of Vanguard that is steadily increasing in popularity. At lagaycenter.tumblr.com you can do more than read Vanguard on your computer or tablet, you can share stories with friends and post comments about our articles.

And of course, those who don’t like print can also read VanguardNOW, which is an email digest of articles in the current month’s Vanguard with breaking news that didn’t make it into the print edition.

But we also hear from readers who tell us how much they like circling courses and activities listed in our Learning Curve pages and hanging them on their refrigerator. And we hear from readers who don’t like email and appreciate being able to read our stories—and learn about our events and activities—the old-fashioned way.

Well, we’ve heard you and we’re making some changes. We’ve developed a new events/ courses/activities calendar, like the one inserted in this issue, that we’ll mail to everyone each month (unless, of course, you ask us to not send it). And this will be the last issue of Vanguard as a monthly publication.

“Beginning in June, we’ll produce and mail a new quarterly version of Vanguard that will have all of the elements you like about the current format, along with some great new content.”

Beginning in June, we’ll produce and mail a new quarterly version of Vanguard that will have all of the elements you like about the current format, along with some great new content. Everyone will receive the first quarterly issue, and subsequent issues will be mailed to all current Center members (those who donate at least $35 per year).

Of course, even if you’re not a Center member, you’ll still be able to pick up the new quarterly Vanguard at any of our facilities or view it online. And each month, we’ll continue to produce and send VanguardNOW via email to all who want it.

Thank you to everyone for the feedback that has led to these changes. We’re proud to have you as a reader and supporter.

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VA NG UA RD STA FF Jim Key

Chief Marketing Officer

Kimiko Martinez

Associate Director of Marketing & Communications

Experience

Jesse Finley Reed

the Center

Creative Director

Join us for a tour to see how we open the doors of hope for our community. You will leave not only informed but inspired!

Visit lagaycenter.org/tour or call 323-993-7635.

Gil Diaz

Marketing & Communications Manager

Manny Sanchez

Marketing & Communications Coordinator

Kurt Thomas

Graphic Designer printed by Pace Marketing Communications

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Vanguard is published by the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, a nonprofit corporation. 1625 N. Schrader Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028, Voice 323-993-7400 • TDD 323-993-7698. Copyright 2013, Vanguard. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Publication of the name, quotation or photograph of a person in articles or advertising is not an indication of the sexual orientation or the HIV status of such person. Moving, getting

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newsletter.

Life (after Death) Why same-sex couples need to know about Social Security benefits Ron Wallen is barely living the comfortable lifestyle that his late husband had envisioned.

“Right now, I’m living month to month. The money goes in the right hand and goes out the left,” says Wallen, 80. “It’s getting rougher and rougher.”

Wallen met the man who would be his husband, Tom Carrollo, in 1953. Fifty-five years later, in 2008, they were married. Carrollo’s biggest worry was that after he died, his husband wouldn’t have enough money to live on without him.

“For Tom to say he wanted me to have enough money after he died really spoke from his heart,” says Wallen, “because he never really knew whether we had money or not. I was the one who managed our money.”

Two months after Carrollo died from a heart attack in 2011, Wallen applied for Social Security Survivors Benefits even though—at the time—it wasn’t an option for legally married same-sex couples.

“I knew my application would be denied, but I did it anyway as sort of a political statement that all married couples—gay or straight—deserve this type of benefit,” Wallen says.

He appealed two rejection letters from the Social Security Administration (SSA), but hadn’t yet found the time to appeal the third. Just two months after receiving that letter, Wallen lost the home he and Tom had shared in Indio, Calif., because he was unable to keep up with the mortgage payments. He was forced to move to nearby Palm Springs.

His harrowing story resonates with the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare Foundation (NCPSSM), whose mission is to motivate eligible people to claim their benefits. Ever since the United States Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act last year, only about 900 applications for Social Security claims—including survivor benefits—have been submitted

by people who were married to someone of the same sex.

“The small number of applications reflects the fact that many same-sex couples, especially older couples, don’t know they’re entitled to these benefits,” says the Center’s Senior Services Director Kathleen Sullivan. “Or they just don’t fully realize how these benefits can impact the quality of their lives.”

On March 18, the Center is hosting a town hall meeting to educate LGBT couples about their benefits. When NCPSSM hosted the first-ever town hall meetings of this kind in the Bay Area in October, more than 400 people attended. A week after the meetings, NCPSSM saw a 54 percent increase in Social Security claims submitted by LGBT people.

“This is their money that’s owed to them,” says NCPSSM Director Ellen Morgenstern. “It’s a matter of social justice and economic fairness.”

Wallen knows all too well how these benefits will change his life. The thought of more

money in his pockets—approximately $900 per month—brings him a great sense of relief, especially as he’s contemplating a move from his current residence to an LGBT retirement center in Northern California.

“I urge everyone to take advantage of these benefits. After all, this is what LGBT couples have been fighting for all these years,” he says. “If it’s OK for ‘Mr. and Mrs.’ to reap these Social Security benefits, then it’s certainly okay for ‘Mr. and Mr.’ or ‘Mrs. and Mrs.’” Interested in learning more about Social Security benefits for LGBT couples?

Join our town hall meeting on Tuesday, March 18, at 6:30 p.m. at the Center’s Renberg Theatre in The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, with refreshments served one hour prior to the event. Panelists will include regional staff members from the Social Security Administration.

C E N T E R B R I EFS PHOTO BY RUVEN AFANDOR

The one and only Liza Minnelli will be the special guest for the eighth installment of the Center’s “Conversations with Coco,” hosted by drag diva Miss Coco Peru (right) on March 20. Minnelli’s highly anticipated appearance at the Center precedes her debut performance at Walt Disney Hall on March 25.

Blending fascinating discussion and revealing stories, “Conversations with Coco” has proven to be among the most popular events offered by the Lily Tomlin/Jane Wagner Cultural Arts Center.

As of press time, VIP and Preferred Seating tickets for this fabulous event are still available at lizacoco.eventbrite.com.

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PHOTO BY STEVEN C. DE LA CRUZ

L I F E I S A C A B A R E T, O L D C H U M S

C E N T E R B R I EFS

AN EVENIN G WITH WOMEN TAKES IT TO THE ROXY WITH JOAN JETT Presented by Lexus Financial Services and The Osbournes, this year’s An Evening with Women launch party is moving from Linda Perry’s recording studio and taking it to the Roxy stage with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts to raise money, sell tickets, sell tables—and to announce the May 10th An Evening with Women lineup at The Beverly Hilton Hotel!

To buy tickets for the launch party, visit ticketfly.com.

LET’S TOAS T TO THAT! Stoli Group USA, the parent company of Stolichnaya Vodka, pledged $300,000 over three years to support the work of the Center’s Leadership LAB (Learn Act Build) to train and mentor emerging LGBT leaders in the U.S. and around the globe.

IN REM EM BRANCE

“While the LGBT community is making gains internationally, there have been big and significant setbacks,” said Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. “Extremists, acknowledging they’re losing the battle here in the United States, are expanding their influence in other countries by demonizing LGBT people and attacking their freedoms. Their influence must be countered. This extraordinary commitment by Stoli Group USA sets a terrific example for all corporations.”

Friends and family gathered on February 2 to pay tribute to the beloved Daniel H. Renberg, one of the Center’s most generous donors, at the eponymous Renberg Theatre at the Center's Village at Ed Gould Plaza. Renberg passed away in January at age 83 and is survived by his husband and partner of 53 years, Eugene Kapaloski.

Born in Chicago, Renberg moved to Los Angeles in 1958 and worked as a stockbroker before establishing Renberg Capital Management in 1964. He was a generous philanthropist who shared his wealth with many LGBT organizations.

At one time he owned The Advocate. He also was politically active, supporting Democratic candidates who would advance the cause of LGBT equality.

“Dan cared deeply about making the world a better place for LGBT people," says Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. "He and Gene were among the first living Center donors to surpass the $1 million mark in cumulative giving. But what I’ll always remember about Dan was his sense of humor and his kind heart. Dan will be sorely missed.”

THE GREAT ESCAPE HOW A TRANSGENDER WOMAN ESCAPED FROM THE MIDDLE EAST TO WORK AT THE CENTER

By Gil Diaz 8

MARCH 2014

PHOTO BY JESSE FINLEY REED

THE LIFE OF AMANDA FRONTINO, A YOUNG TRANSGENDER WOMAN LIVING IN THE MIDDLE EAST, CHANGED COMPLETELY IN A MATTER OF MINUTES. She was lost in paradise as she sat in front of her computer mesmerized by a video she’d found on YouTube entitled “A Day in the Life of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.”

She vividly recalls what Center CEO Lorri L. Jean was saying in the video: “We’re like a onestop center for people in our community who need... a place to celebrate... and to be free and open in Los Angeles.”

Frontino felt an instant kinship with the people shown in the video: LGBT people who were clearly happy and living their lives openly and honestly in a way she had never even considered.

Living in Kuwait, she was thousands of miles away from the nirvana that she imagined Los Angeles to be, with little hope she’d ever get to L.A. or the Center in person.

Just weeks earlier, she was savagely beaten by police officers and dumped into a tiny, filthy jail cell where she recovered from the welts and bruises that covered her swollen body. Her attackers had been instructed to “beat the girl out of her brain.”

“I felt like a rag doll as they punched me from all directions,” she recalled. “At one point I was laying on my back, semi-conscious, while two officers tied my legs to a board. Grabbing both sides of the board, they yanked my feet in the air. A third officer joined them to beat my legs and the soles of my feet with a rubber baton while the remaining officers watched in enjoyment.”

These were the atrocities Frontino—a statuesque figure at 6-feet tall—had to endure in an Islamic society that viewed transgender people as so shameful and disgusting that they don’t deserve to live.

Even Frontino’s family treated her like a dog.

“My father hates me to death,” she says.

“When I was 5, I knew I was different from the others. I was attracted to boys, and I was more comfortable being around girls. I forced myself to love soccer, my country’s favorite sport. But I preferred playing with dolls and doing things that girls do. I tried my hardest to ‘be normal.’”

During high school, her strict father pulled her out of public school and enrolled her in

I FELT LIKE A RAG DOLL AS THEY PUNCHED ME FROM ALL DIRECTIONS.”

an all-boys Islamic private school, believing the transfer would “cure” his child. She dropped out within three months after being taunted by teachers and schoolmates as a “pervert” and a jens-thaleth (Arabic for “she-male).

“I tried to be like a man,” she recalls. “Physically, I tried to stand up and sit down like the other boys, but it didn’t feel right to me. I felt like I was acting.”

A FAMILY AFFAIR Out of school and out of sight, she thought her days of being bullied and physically attacked by classmates were over.

But, her worst nightmares were only just beginning.

“When I was 15 years old, my dad woke me up in the middle of the night,” she recalls. “He pulled my hair and ordered me to get dressed.

We got into our car and he drove us to my uncle’s workplace.”

The uncle was a colonel for Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior, Department of Criminal Investigations. Crying hysterically and pleading for her life, she was taken to a room where five plainclothes officers—the ones instructed to “beat the girl out of her brain”—were waiting.

The torture went on for 20 minutes with the officers careful about not leaving any evidence of scarring on her face or body. To make matters MARCH 2014

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I LOST EVERYTHING IN KUWAIT: MY HUMAN RIGHTS, MY IDENTITY AND MY STRENGTH. BUT I GOT IT ALL BACK BECAUSE OF THIS COUNTRY AND THE CENTER. I WOULD DIE FOR THIS COUNTRY—THAT’S HOW MUCH I LOVE AMERICA.” worse, she was sexually assaulted by one of the officers during her jail stay, who threatened to have her beaten up again if she didn’t comply with his demands for sex.

Despite these persecutions, Frontino got back on her feet each time to continue pursuing her transition—even going to extreme measures. At the age of 16, she began selfmedicating with birth control pills in order to ingest doses of estrogen.

“I didn’t care if it was dangerous thing. I took the pills twice a day, and my physical features became more feminine. I began developing breasts, and the tone of my voice sounded higher,” she says. “But at the same time, I became mentally and emotionally sensitive. I became moody and cried easily. I was a beautiful woman on the outside, but on the inside, I was desperate.”

T HE P RI CE O F FREED O M Disgusted by his transgender teen, Frontino’s father sent her to California to study at Sonoma State University. Rather than obeying her father’s demands to stay with relatives, she took matters into her own hands and contacted the manager of the school’s American Language Institute for housing assistance. A local, elderly woman named Alicia Frontino had agreed to host the Kuwaiti student.

“Once I met Alicia, something just clicked, and I eventually started calling her ‘mom,’” says Frontino, who eventually adopted the woman’s last name as her own.

But her taste of freedom was cut short after her finances dried up, requiring her to return to her homeland. And to make matters worse, she was returning at a dangerous time: The Kuwaiti government had passed a new law making it punishable for anyone to “imitate the opposite sex in any way in public.” A violation of Penal Code 198 resulted in at least one year in jail, a fine of $3,500 or both.

Three months after the new law took effect, Frontino was cuffed at a checkpoint after the arresting officer realized her identification card reflected her gender as male.

“The other officers took me away to the police station, where they physically and verbally

abused me,” she says. “They slapped me over and over again. One of them threw an office stapler at me, leaving me with a scar on my left arm. On the fifth day of my stay in jail, they shaved off my long, beautiful hair.”

This type of abuse and humiliation from the prison guards went on for 21 days. They were clearly on a witch hunt for other transgender people, as they peppered Frontino with questions every day about her friends and the places where they gathered.

After her father posted bail, Frontino was fined $3,500 and given three years probation.

According to the judge, if she was caught posing as a woman again, she would end up in jail immediately for one year.

GIVE HER LIBERT Y O R G I V E H E R D E AT H It was during her probation when Frontino discovered the Center’s video on YouTube.

After watching it—the best 10 minutes of her life, she says—she scribbled a list of things she wanted to achieve: buying a house and a car, marrying a man, having children.

Also, dignity and career. She was convinced the only way she could get dignity was to live in America, and the only career she wanted was at the incredible place she saw in the video.

During one of her many phone conversations with Alicia Frontino, she talked about the heinous crimes happening to her in Kuwait.

The elderly woman encouraged her to come back to America. Frontino decided—with the full support of her surrogate family—she would apply for asylum as soon as she returned.

In 2010 a civil rights advocacy group in San Francisco lobbied on her behalf and recruited a lawyer who argued that if Frontino returned to Kuwait, she might be jailed, tortured or even killed.

Within eight months, she was granted asylum.

“As soon as I received my green card, I began kissing it,” she recalls. “I was so happy to see my picture as a woman next to the picture of the Statue of Liberty! And, for the first time in my life, my ID card identified me as a female!”

Finally able to cross dignity off her list, Frontino pursued her dream of working at the Center. In April 2013 she was hired as a medical lab assistant in the McDonald/Wright Building where she continues to work today.

“As a proud trans woman, the Center is my community. I love my job so much!” she says. “I lost everything in Kuwait: my human rights, my identity and my strength. But I got it all back because of this country and the Center. I would die for this country—that’s how much I love America.”

Just as she had felt when watching that YouTube video for the first time, Frontino is experiencing— in real life—the joys that accompany a day in the life of the Center. She can still hear Lorri L. Jean saying in the video: “There’s nothing like this place in the gay world... anywhere!”

When Amanda Frontino was jailed in her homeland of Kuwait for being a transgender woman, police officers abused her and shaved her hair (left). Her beautiful mane returns by the time she’s legally able to change her name and gender, as she celebrates the momentous occasion with her surrogate mother, Alicia Frontino (right).

W E L L S FA R G O P RES EN TS

Join us at Simply diVine, the 9th annual tasting event benefiting the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center!

This year, the delicious event moves to the Center’s Village at Ed Gould Plaza in Hollywood—our home for arts, culture, education, and other programs.

Stroll through The Village and along McCadden Place, sampling food from L.A.’s most popular restaurants, including an incredible selection of wine, craft beers, spirits, specialty coffees, and cold-pressed juices.

S A T U R D AY, A P R I L 5, 2 0 1 4 C L U B V I P 5 – 6 : 3 0 p. m .

G E N E R A L 6 – 9 p. m .

SI M PLY D IVINEL A.ORG S P O NS O RED BY

BENEFI T IN G

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When I first signed up to do the ride, someone told me it would be an unbelievable and life-changing event.

They were absolutely right.”

That’s what friends are for Riding to end AIDS for a friend who no longer can

by Gil Diaz

At 52 years old, Barbara Schwerdt will never forget the phone conversation she had with her best friend Chris in November 1997. He called from Washington, D.C., to wish her a happy birthday.

“We talked for awhile, and I noticed his voice was hoarse,” she recalls. “I asked him if he had a cold, and he jokingly said it was a little more serious than that.”

The duo had known each other since their college days at Gallaudet University, where they were studying to be sign language interpreters.

They were inseparable. When Chris was accepted into a Ph.D. program at California State University, Northridge, Barbara jumped at the chance to move with him to Los Angeles.

“He took me under his wing and made a commitment to show me everything about life,” she says. “He taught me how to take care of myself—to shop, cook, exercise, dress, socialize.

He was like an older brother to me.”

One year after their move, Chris tested positive for HIV, during a time when many people were still misinformed about the virus. Undaunted by other people’s fears of HIV, Barbara remained by his side. She hardly worried about

Chris because he was one of the strongest people she knew, and he did everything he could to remain healthy by participating in various clinical trials involving the newest HIV medications.

But a decade later, the man speaking on the other end of the phone wishing her happy birthday just didn’t sound like her best friend anymore. Chris’ HIV had progressed into AIDS. “I couldn’t believe how serious it was,” the North Hollywood resident says. “That’s why I flew out as soon as I could to be with him.

I spent Thanksgiving week with him and watched as he meticulously took his medications around the clock. He never slept for more than four hours at a time, but we had a wonderful time together.”

One year later, on November 20, 1998, Chris died. He was 47 years old.

“In the midst of his devastating illness, he continued fighting. He endured round-theclock medications and visits to the doctor,” says Barbara, who traveled cross-country again to be by his side one last time. “He was a real trooper.”

As a tribute to Chris—and as a 50th birthday present to herself—Barbara completed

her first AIDS/LifeCycle in 2012. She became a Virtual Cyclist the following year and will be hitting the road again this June 1-7.

“When I first signed up to do the ride, someone told me it would be an unbelievable and life-changing event,” says Barbara. “They were absolutely right. I can’t wait to experience AIDS/LifeCycle again.”

Her training regimen nowadays consists of a ride every weekend, a spinning class midweek and free weights twice a week for upper body strength. It’s a grueling workout, but Barbara has no complaints.

“It was a blessing to be with Chris, holding his hand when he took his last breath. I think about him more than I ever thought I would,“ she says. “I can’t get Chris back, but with every push I make along the route, I’m helping those who are still struggling with this disease. I know Chris is proud of me for doing this.”

There’s still time to sign up for AIDS/LifeCycle as a Rider, Roadie or Virtual Cyclist!

Visit aidslifecycle.org.

Opposite page: AIDS/LifeCycle rider Barbara Schwerdt raises her bicycle in victory at one of the scenic rest stops along the seven-day, 545-mile bicycle journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

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T H E

P O S I T I V E

S I D E

O F

MASCULINE(ity) H O W TH E CE NTE R I S H E LPI NG TO PROTECT L. A. ’ S YO UNG GAY M E N O F COLOR

Beginning in April, hundreds of young HIV-positive Latino and AfricanAmerican men will make a difference in their communities by participating in an ambitious and groundbreaking $7 million study supported by the Center. It’s led by the University of California, Los Angeles and known as Project MASCULINE, which stands for “MSM and Substances Cohort at UCLA Linking Infections Noting Effects.”

As the study’s community partner, the Center is responsible for recruiting 540 HIV-positive Latino and African-American men who are substance abusers and have sex with men (MSM). The UCLA Vine Street Clinic will recruit 540 high-risk HIV-negative participants.

“The selection of the Center as one of two community-based research sites really speaks to the quality of our Clinical Research Program,” says Risa Flynn, the Center’s Health Services Research Program Manager. “More and more academic and government institutions are recognizing that the Center is an essential research partner for studies in L.A. that involve HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, particularly rigorous, complex clinical trials.”

The five-year study, which is supported by a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health, will examine the lives and habits of the men in these minority groups, especially their uses of alcohol and non-injected drugs, including cocaine and methamphetamines. The results may determine how the participants’ actions affect HIV transmission and the effectiveness of antiretroviral drugs in their immune systems.

The alarmingly high HIV infection rate among Latino and AfricanAmerican gay and bisexual men, compared to other ethnic groups, speaks to the need for this study: •

Of the gay and bisexual Latino men who tested for HIV at the Center last year, nearly 5 percent tested positive.

•

Of the gay and bisexual African-American men who were tested at the Center last year, 6 percent were HIV-positive.

•

By comparison, only 3 percent of the Caucasian gay and bisexual men the Center tested last year were HIV-positive.

“The rate of new HIV infections among Latino and African-American men who have sex with men continues to be a huge concern,” says Dustin Kerrone, Director of the Center’s Sexual Health Program. “We’ve got to better understand their risk factors and that’s why studies like this, to help inform our outreach programs, are so important.”

Do you, or someone you know, want to participate in this study?

Contact Risa Flynn at rflynn@lagaycenter.org.

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PHOTOGRAPHS BY KATHY PASPALIS AND CHRIS STEWART

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Legal Professionals Reception (1-3) Dozens of legal eagles and their colleagues, including (4) Congressman Mark Takano and Center CEO Lorri L. Jean, gathered at a private residence in Los Angeles for the annual networking and fundraising event.

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AIDS/LifeCycle Soiree (5-8) Guests flocked to Café La Bohème in West Hollywood to attend the biggest party of the year for the AIDS/LifeCycle community in Southern California.

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The MisMatch Game (9) Held at the Center’s Renberg Theatre, some of Hollywood’s most creative and deranged comic minds kept audiences laughing—and guessing—with their answers in a tribute to the vintage TV game show The Match Game, as they surpassed the $100,000 fundraising mark.

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